Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: B.K.Myers who wrote (3544)	2/3/1999 12:35:00 AM
From: foobert	Respond to of 9818

Govt of Alberta doing something about Y2K This was on the front page of my newspaper last Saturday. <<<START Alberta considers lawsuit against computer industry for Y2K costs. EDMONTON (CP) -- The Alberta government will hit up computer-industry giants -- including Microsoft -- to recoup at least some of its growing costs for exterminating the Y2K bug. "We're going to be saying, 'This is your equipment, you supplied it to us, you didn't tell us there was a problem,' " provincial Treasurer Stockwell Day said Monday. "You didn't offer to help us in terms of monetary dollars. Now we want to talk about that." The so-called Y2K bug refers to the inability of computer networks to recognize the year 2000 on their internal clocks. Systems could crash and cause failures in everything from databases to traffic lights. Projected costs for making the government's roughly 14,000 computers Y2K compliant have grown to nearly a quarter-billion dollars after health authorities said they need up to another $40 million. Some fear the bug could effect any medical equipment with a microprocessor or internal clock chip that uses a date. That would include items such as ventilators, defibrillators, physiotherapy equipment and fetal monitors. Health Minister Halvar Jonson confirmed Monday that costs for fixing problems caused by the glitch will exceed the $170 million already budgeted. Day has ordered all government departments to itemize costs related to fixing the Y2K bug. He said computer suppliers should deal with the Y2K problem the same as car manufacturers do when they issue recall notices and fix problems at no cost to the buyer. "We expect the same type of service," Day said. "If I have to go and chat with manufacturers or Bill Gates himself, I'm willing to do that." Day suggested that private lawyers may be willing to take the government's case on a contingency basis for part of the settlement. "It is maddening," conceded Premier Ralph Klein. Klein cautioned there's a ways to go before legal papers are filed in court. "It hasn't been run past the lawyers to see what chance we would have." Government experts expect about 95 per cent of essential government computers will the Y2K compliant by the end of this March. END>>> canoe.com