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

To: John Mansfield who wrote (4978)	3/23/1999 1:28:00 AM
From: Cheeky Kid	Respond to of 9818

honeywell.ca honeywell.com

To: John Mansfield who wrote (4978)	3/23/1999 9:01:00 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 9818

John, You (everyone?) may want to check out the most recent edition of "Wired" magazine (with the spooky looking black cover). They have an EXCELLENT article/interview with a Y2K "bughunter" for Texaco discussing their problems, vulnerabilities, and methodology for remediating their SCADA and embedded systems. (They even have some nice pictures of a handheld programming tool they use to access the code on each RTU-"remote terminal unit") Vital information I gleaned from the article? 1.) While each RTU is crucial for operational monitoring purposes, the expert opinion of the engineers is that there is nothing they know of that would interrupt or shut down the operation of their off-shore production systems. The problem is that, should their data collection SCADA systems fail, by law after 4 hours of failure they must shut their production operation down as a safety measure. 2.) Even in the event of failure of their systems over Jan, 2000, with the addition of necessary personnel (Note: with thousands of laid off oil workers looking for a job), they would be up and running again within a week or so. 3.) Main concern? Everyone else. Suppliers, vendors, their suppliers and vendors.... etc, etc. Special comment was made on the topic of utilities and how they are worried about the petroleum industry, while the petroleum industry is worried about the Utilities. 4.) Final note. It was noted that in order to prevent any repercussions from failure of power (something they can't control), Texaco will likely take its systems on the power grid and crank up their back up generators through the evening hours of Jan 1st. Interesting bit of wisdom from Texaco's Y2K project manager: Y2K can't be the end of time... It's too obvious. IMO, a must read for those interested in Embedded Systems and several examples of how they find and fix them. Also, interesting article on past power outages from NZ to the recent one in Canada/NE US last winter. What caused them and how people muddled through. Regards, Ron

To: John Mansfield who wrote (4978)	3/23/1999 11:20:00 PM
From: C.K. Houston	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 9818

Currently, only 17% of 911 centers & 35% of fire departments are prepared. WASHINGTON, D.C.-- Americans may experience some disruption in state and local emergency services because they lag in preparation for the year 2000 computer problem, emergency officials told lawmakers on Monday. techweb.com "Y2K - What2Do" California Governor's office of Emergency Services Even if you don't want to read their 4 pg booklet, at least pull up the URL and scan the 1st page. They give some pretty specific preparation advice. Including how to purify water. oes.ca.gov California EPA State Water Resources Control Board (Y2K) It will not be possible to test all embedded systems and repair the non-compliant ones (therefore, efforts should be focused on the most critical systems)... *It is possible that major utilities (electric, telecommunications, water, etc.) will be unable to operate for some period of time after 1/1/2000* (therefore, it is essential to have a contingency plan). swrcb.ca.gov LA DWP Invites Public to Year 2000 Meetings LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 23, 1999--What is the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power doing to prepare for the year 2000, also known as Y2K? infoseek.go.com Federal Government Figures Project Y2K Water Crisis More than thirty million people in the United States are likely to be without water after January 2000. Nearly two thirds of those affected will be in the big cities ... This bleak assessment was delivered during an American-Canadian meeting held on February 22, 1999 to discuss "Cross-Border Y2K Issues." At the meeting it was revealed that ten percent of large urban water suppliers in the United States are not expected to be Y2K compliant when the Year 2000 date transition occurs. y2ktimebomb.com Cheryl