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

To: John Mansfield who wrote (2507)	8/30/1998 10:32:00 AM
From: John Mansfield	Respond to of 9818

'Bennett Paints Jan. 1, 2000, Scenario (07/15/98; 8:05 p.m. ET) By Mary Mosquera, TechWeb WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In the days leading up to Jan. 1, 2000, Americans should document financial information and stock up on food and essentials, said the U.S. senator leading the charge for year 2000 compliance on Wednesday. "Pay attention to the things that are vulnerable in your life and make contingency plans," said Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), chairman of the Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, who spoke at the National Press Club here. The year 2000 problem is the inability of many older computers to distinguish between the 20th and 21st centuries, because many computers store years as two-figure dates rather than four-figure dates to save disk space. Because the computers become confused about time, they crash or malfunction. "Civilization as we know it will not end," said Bennett about what will happen when the century rolls over in 17 months. "But if it were this weekend, it would," he said. Bennett praised President Clinton's speech on Tuesday giving the year 2000 glitch issue more visibility. The president proposed legislation that will protect businesses from litigation if they share information. The legislation has a 50-50 chance at passage, Bennett said. "But their chances to pass are much better than they would have been a week ago," he added. Bennett said he wasn't ready to head for the hills on Dec. 31, 1999, but he was going to document sensitive information on paper and store some essentials in the basement. "Supermarkets could be closed for a few days because supplies may be disrupted," he said. On that date, Bennett said he expects to be at his home in Salt Lake City, Utah. "I wouldn't book a vacation on an airplane to a foreign country" on Dec. 31, 1999, he said. "It's clear we can't solve the whole problem," the senator said. "So we have to allow some systems to die so mission-critical systems can work." Bennett has a guess at how Jan. 1, 2000, which falls on a Saturday, will unfold. The nation's power grid will operate, but Americans should expect some brownouts and regional blackouts. Phones should work, and financial networks will function, but some individual banks and credit unions will go bankrupt. Clean water will be available in most communities, but some will go without. Bennett said he is most concerned about the health care system. Some hospitals will be driven into bankruptcy because they can't get reimbursed by Medicaid and Medicare, because the government's Health Care Financing Administration's vendors won't be fully compliant. Some rural hospitals that lack reprogramming budgets, will be able to give little care because of their dependence on information age techniques Some life-sustaining machinery in intensive care units will fail, Bennett said. ... techweb.com