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Non-Tech : The Y2K Newspaper -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bill Ounce who wrote (106)	9/27/1999 2:08:00 AM
From: C.K. Houston	Respond to of 198

ASIA'S READINESS FOR YEAR 2000 IS A GLOBAL ISSUE Wall Street Journal - Sept 24, 1999 The impact of possible Y2K complications in Asia on the global supply chain is now a concern, following this week's earthquake in Taiwan and consequent worldwide supply chain problems in the semiconductor industry. Asia, a major high-tech supplier to international companies, is one of the least prepared regions for the date change, according to recent reports. Analysts say some parts of Asia, specifically China, have released very little information about Y2K preparations. International companies such as Dell Computer have been working to ensure that Asian suppliers are ready for Y2K. Dell has factories in China and Penang, Malaysia, and has established numerous contingency plans, according to Dell Y2K point man Dave Cunningham. Although some areas, including Taiwan, South Korea, and Singapore, are considered prepared for Y2K, even these regions could be affected by the less-prepared areas. [For educational purposes.] SEPT. 24, 1999 (Electronic Buyers News - CMP via COMTEX) -- The massive earthquake that hit Taiwan last week sent tremors throughout the global electronics supply chain, raising fears that component prices will rise and many parts will go on allocation in an already tight market. Taiwan, home to leading chip suppliers and foundries, dozens of chipset and motherboard makers, and many assemblers and passive-component companies, experienced widespread power losses throughout the island, and it could take another week to 10 days before volume production is back at many of these sites, according to companies and analysts ... "It looks far worse than what companies are saying about the damage," said analyst Danny Lam, a principal at Fisher-Holstein Inc. "Worldwide allocation [of Taiwan-made products] is inevitable.' The Taiwanese government estimates that chip makers could lose More than $63 million a day due to production shutdowns. *And it could take no less than two months* before foundries reach their pre-earthquake production levels*, said Jim Feldhan, president of Semico Research Corp., Phoenix ... [It was really sad watching the spin doctors on the boob tube last night telling viewers that this dip in tech stocks presented an exceptional opportunity to get in at bargain prices.] Ron Starr* Message 11361035 ============================================================ Electricity to Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park Fully Restored Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) Electricity to Taiwan's semiconductor industry stronghold, the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park, was fully restored on Saturday, according to park administration officials. Most of the silicon wafer foundry plants had already resumed operating at full capacity, the officials added [...] ============================================================ *NEXT DAY: ANOTHER* 6.8 EARTHQUAKE Massive Aftershock [Sept 26] Brings More Death and Destruction to Taiwan - By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ANTOU, Taiwan -- A further massive earthquake aftershock struck Taiwan early Sunday, bringing more death and destruction hours after a state of emergency was declared over more than 100,000 homeless refugees. The shockwave, measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale ... Taiwan's Seismology Centre said the tremor came from the same faultline as Tuesday's devastating quake -- one of the largest worldwide this century and the biggest ever on the tremor-plagued island. They revised earlier warnings to say that large aftershocks could continue for up to two months. Tremors of more than 6.0 on the Richter scale could be expected until two weeks after Tuesday's strike. By early Sunday, 7,270 aftershocks had struck Taiwan -- an average of one a minute since Tuesday's pre-dawn quake [...] Message 11364027 ============================================================ TURMOIL IN TAIWAN -- OEMs, chip makers scramble for answers Much of the confusion stems from the complications that often follow natural disasters. Taiwan's infrastructure has been pounded, power outages are widespread, phone lines are jammed and service is limited, and government and business leaders are busy providing relief to victims. Many are predicting that it will take seven to 10 days to determine the extent of the damage and assess the long-term effects ... Given the amount of silicon being shipped out of Taiwan, many in the industry are concerned about the impact the quake will have on fabless semiconductor suppliers. One area that is expected to be hit fairly hard is the graphic-chip industry, much of which relies on foundries in Taiwan, said Roger Kay, an analyst at IDC. Other semiconductor companies and foundries also will be affected because of the amount of time it will take to recalibrate manufacturing lines and return to full utilization, Kay added. Some chip makers, however, said there will be only a slight hiccup. K.Y. Ho, president and chief executive of ATI Technologies Inc., Thornhill, Ontario, said he expects Taiwan's production to begin again in earnest in about two to three weeks. The company also maintains a two-to-three week buffer of inventory in case of such an emergency, but Ho acknowledged that, beyond that window, there may be potential problems. "We supply all major PC manufacturers, and that means for the upside as well as the downside," he said. "We have a buffer inventory in case of any interruption, so for up to about two, three, or four weeks, there will be no major impact for ATI. But if it's any longer, everybody will face difficulties." [...] Message 11361452 WHAT TAIWAN MEANS TO THE ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY** 1998 worldwide market share - CD-ROMs: 34% - Computer cases: 75% - Desktop Pcs: 17% - Graphics cards: 31% - Keyboards: 65% - Monitors: 58% - Motherboards: 61% - Mouse devices: 60% - Notebooks: 40% - Power supplies: 66% - Scanners: 84% Source: Information Interchange Inc. ============================================================ Toutfest alert!: Bank of America tout-fest -- "The granddaddy of all (toutfests)"! - John Graybill Tech talk could keep sector buzzing SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Technology stocks could be buzzing next week as Banc of America Securities opens its 27th annual investment conference on Monday ... The San Francisco meeting of technology, life-sciences, retail and other companies, formally known as the Montgomery Securities conference, is one of the biggest investment gatherings of the year. Two hundred and thirty companies are expected to attend, giving them the opportunity to talk to money managers about the quickly approaching earnings season ... Semiconductor companies are also expected to generate some interest in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Taiwan, where many chip and chip-equipment makers have production plants [...] cbs.marketwatch.com Cheryl 95 Days until 2000

To: Bill Ounce who wrote (106)	9/29/1999 11:16:00 AM
From: C.K. Houston	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 198

DOD resold non-Y2K compliant computers, medical devices Federal Computer Week - Sept 28 The Defense Department donated or sold hundreds of thousands of computers, medical devices and other electronic equipment to state and local agencies, hospitals and other public institutions that could fail to operate because of Year 2000 problems. In a report released this week, the Pentagon's inspector general found that many of the 340,000 excess medical devices and 77,900 excess computer systems donated or sold by DOD between Oct. 1, 1998 and March 31, 1999 may not have been Year 2000-compliant and could fail to operate properly after Dec. 31 ... In addition to medical devices, the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Defense Logistics Agency sold or donated more than 77,900 pieces of computer equipment to various federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that also may be at risk of Year 2000 failures. "DISA did not notify recipients that equipment may not be Y2K compliant or provide a disclaimer that equipment was made available without warranty for fitness of use," the IG report stated. The equipment transferred to law enforcement agencies included various communications security and cryptologic devices, radio navigation equipment and electronic countermeasures equipment [...] fcw.com Cheryl 55 Federal work days until 2000

To: Bill Ounce who wrote (106)	10/1/1999 10:23:00 AM
From: Bill Ounce	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 198

comp.software.year-2000 Y2K-CHEMICALS Y2K-CHEMICALS by Stephen Singer Charleston, West Virginia, Sept 30 Sapa-AP CHEMICAL MANUFACTURERS TO HALT SOME PROCESSING AT NEW YEAR'S Some major chemical manufacturers plan to suspend operations on New Year's Eve as a precaution against toxic accidents and production foul-ups caused by Y2K computer trouble. Rhone-Poulenc, DuPont, Monsanto and Ashland Chemical all said they will idle some North American plant operations when the calendar turns from 1999 to 2000. "We feel secure that we're Y2K-compliant, but we made a decision that where prudent, we will not produce," said Tom Dover, support manager at the Institute, West Virginia, plant where Rhone-Poulenc produces methyl isocyanate _ the chemical that leaked from a pesticide plant at Bhopal, India, in 1984 and killed 3,000 people. He added: "We're not going to operate those processes that have some of our highly hazardous materials in them." For the same reason, Rhone-Poulenc is also planning to eliminate its stockpiles of methyl isocyanate before the end of the year, Dover said. Some experts fear with the arrival of 2000, older computers that read only the last two digits of a year might mistake the year for 1900, causing shutdowns and malfunctions. The chemical companies want to avoid not only accidents but also ruined batches of chemicals if computers shut down or if power and other utilities are interrupted. The New Year's Eve shutdowns go beyond the way many companies often suspend operations over holiday weekends. Many chemical companies normally run at least some of their plants around the clock every day of the year. Certain chemical processing operations at Ashland's 15 U.S. plants will not operate from Friday night until Monday morning "to take extra precautions," spokesman Jim Vitak said. Monsanto will halt production for about eight hours before and after midnight on Dec. 31, said John Ogens, director of the company's Global Year 2000 Project. Paul Couvillion, global director for DuPont's Year 2000 Project, said managers at each of the company's 321 production units worldwide will decide whether to idle all or portions of the plants. Sean Clancy, spokesman for Union Carbide Corp. in Danbury, Connecticut, said the manufacturer does not expect shutdowns at any of its seven plants in the United States. Union Carbide built the pesticide plant at Bhopal, and paid a dlrs 470 million settlement in 1989 for the accident. Sapa-AP /jb ^C10/01/99 00-10 29 * Sent from RemarQ remarq.com The Internet's Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet - Free!