Uncategorized

Look to the Web for solutions to Year 2000 problems

Gail Hulbert

12/14/1998

The World Wide Web is chock full of sites dedicated to the havoc the
millennium could wreak on software programs reading the final two digits
of the year 2000 as 1900. Just wading through the information can be a
problem in and of itself. The following are the Providence Business
News’ top picks to help ease the pain.
U.S. Federal Government Gateway for Year 2000 Directories,
www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/y2khome.htm
This a comprehensive guide to the U.S. government’s Year 2000 plans.
The General Services Administration’s Office of Government-Wide Policy
maintains this site as a clearinghouse to aid federal, state and
municipal governments.
The best place for IT executives to start is “Best Practices:” how to
proceed from awareness of the bug, to an assessment of an organization’s
exposure, to a protection plan.
Other valuable sections are “Contingency Planning” (what to do first
if you can’t fix everything by Dec. 31, 1999); a page devoted to health
care industry concerns; and a guide to issues about procurement, law and
contracts.
IBM’s Year 2000 Internet web pages, www.ibm.com/IBM/year2000
Big Blue’s guide to Y2K is first and foremost an advertisement for the
computer giant. Just the same, it contains some practical advice about
making your personal computer – as opposed to large computer systems –
Year 2000 ready.
The user navigates the site via a “road map” with routes determined by
the level of information he or she needs. There are links to IBM and
non-IBM sites with more specific information on technical instructions,
products and tools.
Yahoo! Full Coverage: Year 2000 Problem, http://headlines.yahoo.com
Full_Coverage/Tech Year_2000_Problem
This popular search engine does the work for you, reining in the
countless news articles about the millennium bug. Sources are numerous,
including Reuters, the Washington Post, Wired News, Computerworld, CNNfn
and the Business Wire press-release service. There are links to
other Y2K Web sites, message boards, live Net events and audio reports,
such as those from National Public Radio.
This is a good bookmark for people who want to check in on the issue
daily or weekly.

Year 2000 Information Center, www.year2000.com
This provides a forum for disseminating information about the so-
called millennium bug and discussing possible solutions.
It is a service of the Year2000.com Partnership, a joint venture of
Petrus & Associates, Inc., owned by Peter de Jager, and Year 2000
Information Center, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Tenagra
Corporation of Houston.
A leader in the Y2K computer crisis, de Jager has made a career out of
raising awareness in the business world at large.
He has written numerous articles on the subject, including the
“Doomsday 2000” article, published in the Sept. 6, 1993 issue of
Computerworld; and has co-authored the book “Managing 00.”
A list of Y2K vendors and a “Late-Breaking News” section are useful.
Year 2000 Law Center, www.year2000.com/y2klawcenter
Part of the larger Year 2000 Information Center, these Web pages
address legal issues pertaining to the Year 2000 computer problem – from
personal liability to copyright issues associated with Year2000
software.