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Technology Stocks : 2000 Date-Change Problem: Scam, Hype, Hoax, Fraud -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Cheeky Kid who wrote (886)	9/20/1998 10:34:00 AM
From: scott ross	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1361

As a newcomer to this thread, a word of introduction. I am a developer by trade (about ten years in manufacturing/embedded systems/firmware; about ten years in databases and IT). I am also a fence-sitter regarding Y2K. I feel it will neither be TEOTWAWKI nor a BITR (bump in the road). But the problem is quite real. A very simple example of typical effects. Some folks I know just set up a secure server (SSL) for the purposes of web commerce. They set their certificate to expire in ten years (2008), not the typical 1 year (1999). The browser now reports that the certificate has expired - no commerce on this site is possible until the problem is diagnosed further. And this is with all up-to-date, latest revision software. Another example: a rollover test of remediated code works (for the most part; a couple of cosmetic errors in reporting). However, no one can log into the system because their passwords have all 'expired'. Now, multiply this by the hundreds of thousands or millions who have not tested/remediated their systems (voice-mail, security, etc.). Don't believe me? Send me a private message for a security system manufacturer's web site that specifically indicates the vast majority of its security products are non-compliant (and require hardware or software upgrades to repair). Guess how many of these systems will go unrepaired? Sire, the problem is trivial to fix but insidious in its pervasiveness. As a former firmware guy (CNCs, PLCs, etc.), I think the factory floors, the refineries, etc. are in pretty good shape. The kind of technology that worries about years hasn't trickled down enough into these environments to get too worked up. But: password expiration, miscalculations, security-system glitches, communications failures ("hey, this voice-mail expired 99 years ago, toss it!") are enough to cause worry. Regarding Y2K investments: lots of folks on this thread have pointed to pure-play Y2K product stocks as "proof" that Y2K is a BITR. But... Y2K SERVICE stocks (e.g., Cap Gemini, CSC, Keane, etc.) have performed unbelievably well in the last 18 - 36 months. Later, folks.