A day in the life in 2000

By Lisa M. Bowman, ZDNN

March 2, 1998 11:28 AM PST

 

 

Your alarm clock rings on the first business day of the Year 2000, and you expect this day to be like any other. Always the worrywart, you're staying off of airplanes and you pulled your cash out of the bank, plus the IT department at your company solved the millennium problem months ago.

 

But if the public agencies in your area haven't addressed the Year 2000 glitch, you could be in for a surprise.

 

The following is, of course, an absolute worst-case scenario, but parts of it could be coming to town near you and are based on actual fears expressed by agencies across the U.S.:

 

7 a.m. You wake up and hop in the shower. You notice a funny smell. Obviously your local water agency's treatment facility didn't fix the millennium bug.

 

8 a.m. You head for the subway, only to find that Y2K snafus have halted trains for the day.

 

8:30 a.m. You return home to get your car and drive to work. Red lights are flashing at all of the intersections because the systems weren't Year 2000-compliant.

 

9 a.m. Somebody runs one of the flashing red lights in front of you, crashing into another car. You get out to call 9-1-1, but the emergency system doesn't work.

 

10 a.m. You finally get to work and have a meeting with partners in the new company you're starting. Unfortunately, the state has lost its records on incorporated companies and cannot process your request.

 

Noon. You go to lunch. It's your treat because your companion didn't receive his social security check. You hold your breath while the restaurant runs your credit card - expiration date 9/00.

 

2 p.m. You head for the county hospital, where you've scheduled a minor surgery. Things are in disarray because medical devices have failed throughout the day.

 

4 p.m. The hospital, which has lost all of its appointments, finally admits you. An embedded chip in the elevator fails, and the assistants must drag you and your gurney up the stairs.

 

6 p.m. You drive to the state college to check the grade for a class you took last semester, the last of your pre-MBA requirements. Unfortunately it's been lost, and there is no record of you ever having taken the class.

 

7 p.m. You go home to call a friend and complain about your day, but the telephone line is dead because the company hasn't tackled the Year 2000 glitch.

 

But then again, maybe you won't experience any of it. If your electric company isn't Year 2000-compliant, you might sleep through your alarm.

 

 

 

Year 2000 bug hits credit card users

By Amanda Grove, CNBC

MSNBC

January 7, 1998 10:03 AM PST

 

 

Much time, effort and money has been spent so far by businesses to overcome the so-called Year 2000 problem - the inability of many computer systems to handle dates in the next millennium. But with less than two years to go, some retailers and credit-card customers are getting an early taste of the problem.

 

Because credit-card expiration dates look to the future, they see the problem before others. And while credit-card issuers have made an effort to anticipate this one, a few kinks are showing up in the system.

 

At the Market Day grocery store in Washington, people are focused on 2000 even though it's almost two years away. Signs alert customers to the fact that the cash registers can't process charges if the credit card expires in 2000. Owner Chris Cullina isn't pleased.

 

"It's just the inconvenience factor," he said. "Our computer system is slow enough as it is. And it's just another speed bump to get people in and out of the store."

 

Cullina says it's happened dozens of times: a card expiring in 2000 ends in two zeros - which the system reads as the year 1900 - and rejects.

 

Since credit-card charges make up about 40 percent of his business, he has improvised.

 

"We first ask for another form of payment to expedite things," he said. "If they don't have one, then a manager is contacted and we call in just as quickly as we can."

 

Cullina and his customers are experiencing what's known as a Year 2000 problem - which experts say is rare in the credit card context.

 

"We think that it may be relatively minor," said Cathy Hotka of the National Retail Federation. "Retailers have been working hard to correct the Year 2000 problem. And credit card companies have been fairly diligent in checking to see whether retailers will be ready. It is possible, though, that there are going to be some problems and apparently a few have cropped up already."

 

One of those problems is heading to court. A Michigan grocery store is suing both the manufacturer and distributor of its computer system claiming, among other things, it can't process cards expiring in 2000.

 

That puts it in the minority. According to the Visa credit card company, 99 percent of the 14 million locations worldwide that accept its card are now equipped to handle an expiration date in 2000.

 

"Overall I think the bank card industry is in very good shape at a fairly early date," said Greg Jones of Visa USA. "We still have some time to go before the year 2000. But I think it's important to remember that because Visa cards have expiration dates that reach into the future, we took the opportunity some time ago to address the new Millennium.

 

Not all card companies are issuing cards with a 2000 expiration date. But if you have one and you have a problem, experts say it's easy to get a replacement. Just call your issuer and ask for an expiration date in 1999.

 

 

 

Y2K legal bills substantial

By Lisa M. Bowman, ZDNN

February 23, 1998 11:22 AM PST

 

 

If the price tag for fixing the Year 2000 bug sounds alarming (between $100 and $600 billion, according to several estimates), check out the cost of related litigation and business problems -- which some put at $1 trillion in the U.S. alone. But analysts say that threat of litigation could light a fire under agencies that have been slow to address the problem.

 

"The two biggest motivators are legal risks and disclosure. That pressure changes things dramatically," Lou Marcoccio, Year 2000 research director for Gartner Group Inc.

 

Meanwhile, many governments are trying to protect themselves from litigation by drawing up various contracts and pushing various bills to limit liability. Already the state of Nevada has declared itself immune to the effects of the bug in some cases. Hawaii and Utah also are considering that option. California legislators have introduced several Year 2000 bills, including one that would cap damages for pain, and emotional distress at $250,000. That bill would apply to corporations and government agencies.

 

But some legal experts said public agencies shouldn't plan to hide behind such plans. "Government immunity is not a defense. There will be lots of lawsuits," Vito Peraino, an attorney specializing in Year 2000 issues told a gathering of government officials trying to tackle the issue. Instead he urged agencies to scour their contracts and warranties and get experienced professionals to fix the problem.

 

Public shame is another way to motivate Year 2000 action, according to Marcoccio. He said the federal government has kicked into high gear since U.S. Rep. Steve Horn (R-Calif.) gave U.S. agencies grades in their Year 2000 efforts. Many of the agencies received Fs.

 

In California, an independent legislative analyst is asking that lawmakers require state departments to document their Year 2000 progress, much like the federal Securities and Exchange Commission requires of private companies.

 

The analysts report also asks that lawmakers withhold IT money from departments that don't fix the problem. Meanwhile, many governments are reviewing contracts with their software suppliers, looking for ways to avoid liability. The state of California is in the process of hiring a lawyer to investigate the issue. "We want to sue them before they sue us," California Chief Information Officer John Thomas Flynn said.

 

Such action indicates that many agencies are facing the fact that they won't be completely ready in time. In that case, experts urge the public sector to perform triage to save necessary services.

 

"The state will be liable when people in the state aren't given the services they need. We should have thought of that much earlier," said California Assemblywoman Elaine White Alquist (D-Santa Clara), who represents Silicon Valley.