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Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Mansfield who wrote (2046)	6/24/1998 6:47:00 PM
From: Gary R. Owens	Respond to of 9818

Feature - Glitches of the Week [Let's see how laughable Y2k glitches are] MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U.S.A., 1998 MAY 1 (NB) -- By Leonard Lee This is a weekly column from Newsbytes featuring the latest in the weird, bizarre, and unfortunate when it comes to technology. Computer Turns Traffic Ticket Into Sex Charge A Montana man who received a traffic ticket found that a computer error resulted in it being listed in the local newspaper as a conviction for deviate sexual contact. Cody Johnston received a $195 ticket for a commercial trucking weight violation. But when his parents read the High County Independent Press, they read about the sex charge, which covers homosexual acts and bestiality. "It was bad," Johnston said. "You can imagine what was going through their minds, and of course, they didn't believe me." Johnston said his parents, his wife, and his sister all urged him to get treatment and claimed he was in denial. "I've heard every sheep joke you can imagine," Johnston said. He filed suit last week against the newspaper and the Gallatin County Justice Court, which produced the errant report. A spokeswoman for the court said she was unable to comment on the case because of the pending lawsuit. Scottish Women Miss Cancer Screening Test Due to Computer Error Scottish health officials said this week that thousands of women were not scheduled for pap smears because of a computer error. Officials with the Highland Health Board, which administers health care in the region, said a computer system set up in 1991 developed a software problem that omitted some women's medical records. Up to 2,500 women may not have been contacted to schedule screening tests. An additional 2,000 women may have been contacted once, but not called again after that. The board disclosed that the error was first noticed in 1994, but was not made public until health officials began noticing that the region had a higher-than-expected death rate from cervical cancer. Scottish health officials said the deaths may not necessarily be connected with the problem. Bill Fernie, vice-chairman of the Highland Health Council, told the newspaper The Scotsman, "we are concerned as to why it has taken four years for this to come to light and we will be inquiring more deeply into whether other matters are also in order." Tax Computer Displays Hair Trigger Some Californians have been receiving notices in the mail saying they owe income taxes to the state, even though they have already paid. The problem affected taxpayers who filed their returns electronically and then sent in their check by mail. The electronic filing system processed their returns immediately, without waiting for the checks to arrive in the mail. "You'd think nothing would be faster than the tax man getting the money into the bank," quipped Jim Shepherd, spokesman for the Franchise Tax Board. "But unfortunately, our computer worked too fast, and sent out notices before their checks arrived." It's not known yet how many taxpayers were affected, but Shepherd said the FTB had received dozens of phone calls. The FTB plans to send apology letters to every affected taxpayer. Leonard Lee is a nationally recognized consultant and frequent speaker on computer errors. Readers are encouraged to email news clippings of interesting computer glitches to doctorglitch@geocities.com. Reported by Newsbytes News Network: newsbytes.com . gcn.com