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

To: C.K. Houston who wrote (5830)	5/25/1999 2:58:00 PM
From: John Mansfield	Respond to of 9818

egroups.com ratings

To: C.K. Houston who wrote (5830)	5/25/1999 3:02:00 PM
From: C.K. Houston	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

TODAY'S SENATE TESTIMONY - Transcripts "Community Y2K Preparedness: Is There News They Can Use?" ===================================================== WITNESSES: Media Panel Kerry Brock [DYNAMITE TESTIMONY] Director of Broadcasting and Programming, Media Studies Center Many news organizations are not digging into the technical vulnerabilities of their towns, cities, and states. In part, because of a lack of leadership from the federal government. Not only a lack of leadership, but also a lack of consensus within government entities charged with gathering these facts. The governments' own Y2K Czar, John Koskinen, advises journalists to continually drive toward the facts . Though it seems obvious to journalists in the know, Mr. Koskinen seems to avoid facts. Always in a calm and low key presentation, he tells us the power industry nationally has done well but he's concerned about local power companies. He thinks the national telephone systems will work but he is concerned about the 1400 small telephone companies. He indicates we should not worry, but we should worry. senate.gov Lawrence T. McGill Director of Research, The Freedom Forum- Media Studies Center "Late last year, the Media Studies Center determined that the news media had a vital role to play with respect to informing the public about potential problems stemming from the Y2K computer glitch. At that time, it was unclear whether Y2K ought to be a matter of serious concern to the public and it remains unclear to this day." "What I have to say today boils down to a single question: "Is it acceptable if half of all Americans choose to do nothing to prepare for Y2K?" If nothing changes between now and the end of the year--if the government continues to release mixed messages on the potential impact of Y2K on the public, if the news media continue to portray Y2K as an issue that might or might not be resolved by January 1, if so-called Y2K experts continue to waffle as to what sorts of Y2K problems are likely to occur and where--then a large number, perhaps a majority, of Americans will choose to do nothing in preparation for the turn of the year." senate.gov Barbara Cochran President, Radio-Television News Directors Association [Well now I know what my sister's gonna be doing New Years Eve. Working. She's a "cameraman" for a FOX affiliate.] senate.gov James Adams CEO, iDefense - y2ktoday & past CEO of United Press International "So it is not surprising that these traditional media have addressed the Year 2000 Problem as befits the bent of their particular news outlet. If they are catering to a staid, conservative audience with an interest in the status quo, they tend to downplay the potential effects of Y2K, if they mention it at all. If, however, their ratings depend on sensationalism, they portray Y2K as an impending, unsolvable disaster. They are no longer providing a balance." "But the media are only as good as the sources that are available to them, and in the case of Y2K the political leadership has abrogated its responsibility and left the stage empty." "In part, this poor performance by the media comes about because the media itself does not thoroughly understand the problem we are facing. Y2K is an unprecedented event. The outcome is uncertain. There are no easy answers. Therefore we have not seen the kind of media effort that there would be, for example, in wartime to mobilize public opinion, mobilize public awareness, and drive this issue to the front of the public consciousness. We also don't see the media rigorously questioning the statements of public officials or corporate leaders about Y2K. The public is ill served by the ignorance of the media." "This combination of ignorance and entertainment is very dangerous and will make the crisis that inevitably confronts us far worse than it need be." senate.gov Rich Jaroslovsky President, Online News Association & managing editor of WSJ Interactive [This guy didn't say much of anything. What a waste.] "Let me offer for example the efforts of Ziff-Davis's ZDNet ..." senate.gov Schedule & Real Video senate.gov Cheryl

To: C.K. Houston who wrote (5830)	5/25/1999 5:23:00 PM
From: flatsville	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

TELECOM TALK Phone Firms May Have a Few Y2K Hang-Ups By JUBE SHIVER JR. WASHINGTON--Wall Street has declared its computers up to snuff. The airline industry says all systems are go. But with less than 250 days before Jan. 1, there is growing concern that telephone users could be affected by the year 2000 computer problem. The Y2K bug will hit during what is traditionally one of the heaviest calling periods of the year. An industry group set up by the Federal Communications Commission warned recently that because of the potential dialing glitches stemming from the calendar change, placing the traditional New Year's phone call may not be a good idea. "Try to place important phone calls, particularly those overseas, before or after New Year's Day," urged the Network Reliability and Interoperability Council, in a March report that says such caution could help avert calling delays. The good news, the council says, is that 90% of local telephone switches in the U.S. are expected to be ready for 2000 by Dec. 31. But because the phone network spans the globe, some foreign carriers and smaller U.S. carriers may not have the resources to attack computer bugs as aggressively as the biggest U.S. phone companies have. (Fijii for example? ROTFLMAO) The council even rates the year 2000 preparedness of North American phone companies slightly lower than that of European firms, saying nearly half of small and medium-sized carriers in the U.S. "reported not having formal processes for managing the year 2000." "It is very possible that there will be billing errors introduced," said Tome Nolle, a former computer programmer who heads the Voorhees, N.J.-based industry consulting firm CIMI Corp. "There will be cases where some billing system mistakenly records a call that lasts for 24 years and records a bill of $175 million." Even experts who downplay the possibility of phone snafus say the industry will have to be vigilant over the next year to keep the phone system operating smoothly. "We are very confident that there won't be any service-affecting disruptions," said Paul Hart, vice president of technical dispute resolution at the U.S. Telephone Assn. "But every change you make in the network has an option to create unforeseen problems." Hart said he has cautioned FCC officials about imposing new mandates on the industry requiring network upgrades, out of fear that the additional work may slow the industry's efforts to prepare for 2000. The so-called year 2000 computer bug relates to the shorthand most computers use to express the month, day and year of an event. While the shorthand is simple and economical, the downside is that by using only the last two digits to express the year, "1900" may be indistinguishable from "2000." Several underlying support systems for the telephone network rely on date-sensitive computer operations. Customer bills, for instance, are based on calls placed during specific dates and times; phone network maintenance is done at specific intervals. AT&T Corp. spokesman David Johnson said his company and BellSouth Corp. recently completed a successful series of tests indicating that domestic calls will continue to go through next year without a hitch. But even if New Year's Day turns out to be uneventful, some experts predict the industry may have to be on the lookout for months to come because of other date anomalies. Feb. 29, 2000, for instance, does not follow the usual leap year convention of the Georgian Calendar. "There is going to be a need for ongoing testing," said Martha Silver, a spokeswoman for the Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies. Copyright 1999 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved latimes.com