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Technology Stocks : Y2K (Year 2000) Stocks: An Investment Discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (13044)	10/10/1998 12:10:00 PM
From: Josef Svejk	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13949

Humbly report, All, Bill to Bring Technology Workers to U.S. Dies: nytimes.com Excerpt: A bill that would have increased the number of United States visas granted to foreign high-technology workers died in the Senate Friday, with backers of the bill warning its demise could have dire consequences as the computer industry tries to deal with the year 2000 millennium bug. An ouch for Indian body shops, a plus for US and Canadian automated y2k remediation factories? And just a few days ago I said the visas were a done deal for at least a year to come. Figures! That'll teach ya to listen to what I have to blab! Cheers, Svejk proofsheet.com

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (13044)	10/14/1998 9:09:00 PM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 13949

Business Today - 10/14/98 by Bill Burke/BusinessToday staff When Year 2000-related computer problems translate to phone calls to support centers, consumers may find that they are on their own, according to a new study. The majority of call centers will not be ready for the glut of consumer calls about Y2K-related problems, according to a new survey by Quintus Corp., of Fremont, Calif. Call centers - support centers that customers call with orders, inquiries or complaints -- are for many companies the only point of direct contact with consumers. Most, according to Quintus' findings, are not ready for the onset of Y2K. As Y2K problems continue to grow, increasing numbers of consumers will phone these centers with questions and concerns. Quintus' survey revealed that few companies have the ability to deal with the anticipated increase in calls. Only 29 percent of companies surveyed have a Y2K task force to assess call center issues, and fewer than half said their companies are prepared to handle an increase in the volume of calls from consumers experiencing Y2K-related problems. "Companies have begun to realize that the call center is a vulnerable point for Y2K customer interaction," said Quintus President and CEO Alan Anderson. And while the survey found that 33 percent of all call centers interviewed said they had experienced Y2K-related events, just a little more than half have anticipated additional costs related to making call centers Y2K compliant. The awareness is evident - 79 percent have considered customers' concerns about the Millennium Bug - but only a little more than half, 55 percent, have actually done anything about it. Only 39 percent said their company has a Y2K call center strategy. Quintus has several offices worldwide, including one in Acton, Mass. Call centers are expected to experience a sharp increase in consumer inquiries about whether some part of their lives -- credit cards, travel plans, bank records -- will be affected by the Year 2000 issue, according to Quintus.

To: Jeffrey S. Mitchell who wrote (13044)	10/14/1998 9:09:00 PM
From: SOROS	Respond to of 13949

Cleveland Plain Dealer 10/12/98 By JANET TEBBEN Anyone on the receiving end of a morphine IV or a respirator on Dec. 31, 1999, had better hope that all the hype about year 2000 computer problems pays off. The threat of computer failure when 1999 becomes 2000 is a worry because many systems were set up with internal clocks that use only two digits to signify a year, such as 98 for 1998. Because the clocks control a variety of computer functions, problems could crop up when dates go from 99 to 00 at the dawn of the next millennium. Frederick Kohun, an expert on year 2000 (often referred to as Y2K) computer issues at Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh, gave a $19 IV pump as his best example of the threat to hospital patients and everyone in the health-care industry. About 500,000 of one brand of IV pump used at hospitals nationwide are set up to be recalibrated every three months to ensure proper flow of the IV. A computerized alarm shuts off the IV if the unit is not recalibrated after six months, Kohun said, and the units will shut off in 2000 because the computers will think that the units haven't been recalibrated since 1900. "Everybody knew about this. They didn't think the equipment would last long enough to be a problem," he said. The units are about eight years old and inexpensive enough to be replaced, but Kohun said replacing 500,000 units can't be done quickly because installation can take several hours. A similar story could be told for a type of respirator in use at University Hospitals of Cleveland, said Rand Lennox, senior vice president of information services. Lennox said computer experts at the hospital discovered during testing that the respirator will shut off in 2000, but they don't know why. University Hospitals started working on the 2000 problem in 1996, and officials are working with the six other hospitals in the University system to coordinate testing and software upgrades. The 10 hospitals in the Cleveland Clinic system are also using a central office to address year 2000 problems, and computerized machinery has been found to be a problem there as well, said C. Martin Harris, chief information officer for the Clinic. "Many pieces of medical equipment" would shut off automatically on Jan. 1, 2000, and in most cases, it is cheaper to replace the equipment than reset the internal computers, Harris said. Plans to replace equipment are part of the planned upgrades, so Harris said mechanical shutdowns should be avoided. The hospital system just finished an inventory and found the need for a lot of upgrades. "There is significant work to be done," Harris said. Local hospitals and health-care companies are planning for 2000 in the same way as other companies, by taking inventory and checking every item. Parma Community General Hospital started working on the issue about two years ago, said Fred A. Ayers, senior director of information systems. He said the Parma hospital prides itself on being computerized at every level, which means testing will be tedious, but Ayers said most problems are solved with software upgrades. Another challenge to companies has been to make sure vendors and contractors with outdated equipment don't interfere with updated systems at hospitals, Ayers said. In the case of Rural Metro Ambulance service, which has computer-aided dispatching, the company must prove to hospitals that it is ready for 2000 so the hospital doesn't have problems sending patients on its ambulances. Todd Walker, general manager of Rural Metro Ambulance, said the problem had become part of doing business. "They're all putting a section in contracts that says you will be 2000 compliant," Walker said. A signed promise doesn't guarantee that the systems will work, but Kohun said the contracts allow companies to establish the liability of vendors if there is a problem with computers in 2000. Walker said the ambulance service had its own worries for Jan. 1, 2000. "We are a completely computer-aided dispatch, so we have to make sure the system is working," he said. The company has been testing its dispatch system by scheduling fake appointments to see if the computers will recognize dates after 1999. Kohun said that when hospitals first installed computers, they had problems with patients born before 1900. Four-digit coding systems to track patients have been available for years. But computers for patient care are a small part of a hospital's computer use, and Kohun said there were still problems with machinery and billing. "I'm not worried about the patient-care side of it because they've already had to deal with that. It's the financials that are in disarray," he said.