Year 2000 Y2K Computer Crisis

Informational Page

There is no real disagreement among those who are actually dealing with this problem from management down to the lowest programmer. The sunniest optimists and the gloomiest pessimists agree on the following:

What is Y2K? A Year 2000 computer glitch that:

If left unfixed computers with this problem will not produce sound data. Furthermore, any computers that are fixed, or not affected themselves, will not be able to communicate in a shared database that has unfixed computers spewing false data into it.
Everyone agrees that this is not a problem of a few older systems but of almost all systems in banking and government and most systems running businesses, industry and especially utilities.
Everyone agrees that computers and shared data bases must work for government, business, and banking to work.
Everyone agrees that for the world as we know it to continue, government, business and banking must work, so must electrical power grid, the water system, telecommunications, vendor networks, food distribution and assembly lines.
Daily life will be effected: the smaller component parts of a car, let's say, won't arrive in Detroit if the companies who supply those parts can't get the raw materials to put them together. Parts and raw materials won't arrive if people who are buying and selling them can't communicate or process orders or transfer credit from the bank to buy things they need. The reason so many computers must be repaired is because if any one link of the supply and demand chain fails it cripples the whole chain. This chain exists for everything in your world, especially electricity, food and water delivery. (And did I mention welfare checks?)
All seem to agree on the extent of the problem, namely that it affects all main frame computers with years that are recorded only as the last two numbers – 66 or 98 for 1966 or 1998 They agree that it affects all computers which must use dates as part of what they are computing to compute a formula based on the date. It affects all computers that must communicate with computers that compute dates. They agree that it affects smaller imbedded systems run by micro chips which can't read 2000 and must use real time to run whatever sub-system they control – which is to say, most of industry and all utilities.

Experts on the Year 2000

Edward Yourdon <http://www.yourdon.com> : Computer Consultant
Ed Yardeni <http://www.yardeni.com/cyber.html>: Economist
Tony Keyes <http://www.y2kinvestor.com>: Economist

Computers and the Year 2000

The Year 2000 Information Center <http://www.year2000.com>
Will there be a year 2000 Compliant system for PC's? <http://www.pcprofile.com/wilthere.htm>
Survive 2000: PC Compliance Kit <http://www.survive-2000.com>

U.S. Federal Government and Y2K

USA Year 2000 Information Directory <http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/mks/yr2000/y201toc1.htm>
Federal Reserve Bank Year 2000 Alert April 4, 1997: <http://www.ny.frb.org/docs/bankinfo/curcular/10937.html>
Year 2000 Information from the Air Force <http://www.mitre.org/research/y2k/ >
Dept of the Navy Year 2000 Home Page <http://www.doncio.navymil/y2k/year2000.htm>
US Army Y2K Home Page <http://www.army.mil/army-y2k>
Presidents Council on Year 2000: <http://www.y2k.gov>

U.S. State and Local Governments and Y2K

Oregon Index to Other States Year 2000 Pages <http://www.state.or.us/IRMD/y2k/other.htm>
National Association of Countries <http://www.naco.org/y2k/default.asp>

The Internet and the Year 2000

How to tell if you have a Year 2000 problem <http://www.netscapeworld.com/netscapeworld/nw-12-1996nw/-12-year2000.html>
"Net is not immune to y2K concerns, study says".<http://www.webweek.com/970519/infrastructure/immune.html>
Year 2000 <http://www.internetworld.com/1997/01/year2000.html>

The Law and Year 2000

Chicago Daily Law Bulletin <http://www.leepfrog.com/E-Law/CDLB/Year2000.html>

Management and Y2K

Free Downloadable Year 2000 Management Briefing for the PC <http://www.itrain.co.uk/dlinstr.htm>

Guidance for small to midsize Businesses

Y2K Guide for business <http://www.y2kexperts.com/certified_y2k_ready/default.asp>

Health Care and Year 2000

Y2k and Medical Devices Information Paper <http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/yr2000/ipyr2000.html>

Finance /Economy and Y2K

Y2K Corporate Disclosure Database <http://www.progsys.com/yardeni/y2kfind.asp>
J.P. Morgan Report on the Year 2000 Problem: Ready or not, here it comes! <http://www.jpmorgan.com/MarketDataInd/Research/Year2000/default.aspl>

Y2K Community Awareness

The Year 2000 Paul Revere Community Alert <http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roleigh_martin>

Contingency Plan: How to prepare for Y2K

Y2k Net: Year 2000 National Education Taskforce <http://www.y2knet.com>
Y2K Chaos Site <http://www.y2kchaos.com>
Walton Feed Food Sotrage <http://www.waltonfeed.com/self/default.htm>
Y2K Conference Schedules "What to do when the Chips are Down": <http://www.khouse.org>
Food Self-sufficiency: <http://www.arkinstitute.com/>
Banking, Finance, Gold/Silver: <http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-one-category.tel?topic=TimeBomb%20(Y2000)&catory=Banking%2ffinance>
FEMA - Winter Prep <http://www.fema.gov/fema/wntsft.htm>
Mortgages: <http://www.y2ktimebomb.com/Tip/Lord/lord9750.htm>