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To: Mike Winn who wrote (8275)	1/3/1998 3:44:00 PM
From: bob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 31646

Mike, Sure is a pretty day! Thanks TED, Bob

To: Mike Winn who wrote (8275)	1/3/1998 4:10:00 PM
From: Douglas Rushkoff	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 31646

Right, Mike. {I was an anesthesia technician, myself. Truth is, for most medical devices the date function has more to do with recharging schedules and logging than critical function (not that it wouldn't be nice to have that fixed). Medically speaking, I'd fear a whole lot more for the poor sucker who doesn't have a personal relationship with his pharmacist, and doesn't have an extra supply of his heart medication around if and when his credit card stops working or his prescription records are temporarily lost.} {I'm also, personally, a bit paranoid about nuclear power plants and how their cooling systems are regulated.} The realest problem, though, would be a run on banks if the media runs with this in a scary way. In fact, the fear of a panic-driven run on banks would be enough to get me to withdraw a few weeks of cash, even if I didn't believe in Y2K at all. As far as hype, though, I'd have to agree. Still: froth and hype can move the stock and raise awareness. Although the articles and lists may themselves not be factual, their existence as attention-getting media tidbits is real, and it's good for investors to know what word is spreading, and where, however "hyped." Perhaps these sorts of posts should be preceded by "Media Hype that Helps TPRO" or "Media Hype that Hurts TPRO." This way, it can be distinguished from purely fact-based research.

To: Mike Winn who wrote (8275)	1/3/1998 4:25:00 PM
From: Jack Zahran	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 31646

Mike, GIGO. Somewhere along the line a bad date will cause problems. The worst kind of bugs are the latent ones, the ones that don't have an immediate severe (or read, noticiable) effect. I worked on a health maintenance program a few years ago that did preventative scheduling based on the data that was being fed into it, it scheduled doctor appointments based on standard Diagnosis and Prognosis codes coupled with date calculations. If the dates screw up a person might not get the preventative care or regular check-ups necessary. These formula's were based on real statistics. Calculations based on age, frequency of checkups, etc were the key pieces of data. Could you imagine the liability issues involved if poor calculations resulted in bad scheduling. You see, in some embedded cases were the date calculations have a direct effect on the product being produced or being monitored, it is obvious were the remediation work needs to be done. But in other cases, the date problem could have an effect in a related system down the line. The problem is not as simple as you suggest. It is typical for a specialist to have his blinders on to focus on his area. But, we are talking about system wide issues as well as component issues that are a result of embedded systems non-compliance. TPRO has a Supply-Chain expertise that allows them to look at the Inter-Plant and Inter-Systems issues as well. No one is saying that the problem is in 100% of embedded systems. Nor do they have to be to be a major concern. If only 5 to 10% of the systems were affected then we are still talking about a huge market for TPRO's services and tools. The severity from plant to plant will be different and I'm sure many plant functions will be immune to the problem. But, it has already been demonstrated that no embedded system is an island and that it takes only one controlling system to stop an entire operation. From a upper level managers point of view, risk assesment and identification weigh heavy on their decision making. That is the impetus behind TPRO's current marketing success. They have demonstrated that the problem is real through pilot programs and are landing the larger sales. This is proof that the extent of the embedded systems problem is large enough to be a concern. With the current skeptism among managers, the fact that TPRO has already announced 5 Contract's by name and referred to others including 20 Pilots of which BMY was one is overwhelming evidence to the legitimacy of TPRO's market. Sincerely, Jack Zahran P.S. Mike, why is it that B-Tree has no record or history of you working with them? The reason why I ask is because it calls into question your legitimacy. I for one am puzzled, since you claimed to have such an intimate knowledge of their systems.

To: Mike Winn who wrote (8275)	1/3/1998 5:45:00 PM
From: C.K. Houston	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 31646

Mike, <I have worked in the design of more than half of those medical intruments that you listed above and I can tell you with 100% certainty that there is absolutly no problem with the date, and none of those devices use any date info to perform the life saving functions.> BS <CK Houston, could you please do us a favor. If you're going to do research, can you look through the article you find to see if it makes sense before posting.> You're talking to the wrong person, Mike. Contact Scott & White hospital and ask THEM to stop hyping.Tell them that they're wasting their time because you're right ..... and they're wrong. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scott & White Hospital in Temple, Texas has recently begun evaluating medical devices for year 2000 compliancy. They report that the same brand, batch /date, model can have differences in the compliancy of the individual units. As of October, 1997, they have found problems in anesthesia monitors, fetal monitors, and an MRI machine. Other types of equipment that have failed year 2000 testing at other healthcare sites are: infusion pumps in intravenous drips, heart defibrillators, pacemaker and intensive care monitors, CT scans, dialysis, chemotherapy and radiation equipment, and laboratory, radiology and other diagnostic systems." Message 2907171 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- <Very often, those so-called experts have their own agenda.> So, Mike, what's the agenda of these people, at Scott & White Hospital, who are testing these devices? Saving lives? Or, making money off of Y2K hype? Cheryl P.S. The above was provided by someone working on Y2K for the state of Texas.