Real World

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

I strayed away from this board earlier because I seemed to be losing focus on what really mattered. In the mean time I have assumed the duties of y2k Coordinator for my employer composed of a small hospital, four clinics and three programs covering an area about 100 miles by 70 miles in the rural mid-west/south-southwest. After a thorough investigation by biomedical technicians it seems that we only have two devices in operation that are not y2k compliant and one of those is under lease, this includes embedded systems.

After a thorough scanning of our environment, we have determined that upgrading the BIOS on all of the computers will be the most labor-intensive operation for us.

I have been teaching the potential for doom and gloom to my friends concerning the 1/1/00 date and really expected us to be up the proverbial creek in terms of embedded systems and was pleasantly surprised.

Additionally, my brother is a mayor of a small town. We were discussing this topic and he said that it turns out their water and sewar system is almost completely computer-free. Assuming that the lights and the phones stay on, things should run rather smoothly.

The purpose of this post is not to put forth that "everything is going to be all right", but to say that the world is not going to implode because of this. Sure, I plan to take some preventative measures, but I refuse to let the letters y2k take my mind and body hostage. I seemed to be labeled a Pollyanna on this forum earlier, because I saw people like Infomagic as more interested in seeing their (very intelligent) thoughts posted on the internet. Now I am just putting forth my little piece of knowledge from real-world experience regarding the topic.

Godspeed.

-- Slick (don't_think_so@net.com), January 23, 1999

Answers

Power

Banking

Transportaion

Until these three things are completely under control for ALL the firstworld nations to the extent that they could still conceivably help the rest of the countries muddle through (although consequently provoke global recession/depression), I will still be under the impression that the effects of the rollover will be no less than a "5".

-- (Sitll Worried @ Y2K.com), January 23, 1999.


"Real World", Thanks for posting your observations and findings. I am also working on y2k in the utility industry, and my observations are similar to yours - embedded system Y2k problems are not uncommon, but they are almost always minor (but will still cost a lot to fix). I am working on a y2k website that will be "reality" based, and would appreciate your contributions. Please email me at: david@bzn.com

Thanks, David

-- David (david@bzn.com), January 23, 1999.


Dear Slick:

Your Y2k project is not typical. Sounds like you will spend less then 50k. I don't think you are being reasonable when you base your Y2K predictions on your project and your brother's small town project. Just consider this. Saudi Arabia and South America are two countries that furnish the US will a good deal of oil. They have hardly begun any Y2K effort. Thier lack of effort will probably have a domino effect on us. Why do you think Koskinen and the CIA is so concerned about them?

-- Bill Watt (wtwatt@sprynet.com), January 24, 1999.


Bill,

Appreciate your concern for oil supply. Saudi Arabia was put into the 50% failure category by the Gartner Group, but probably not because of a lack of activity, but due to a lack of reliable information. The oil producing parastatal, Saudi Aramco, is NOT under any public disclosure requirements. The press, despite appearances, is not free, and country-wide Internet access was starting up only late last year.

-- Morgan (morgan96@netscape.net), January 24, 1999.


We've always known that remediation is wholly possible. We've always known that some things would get done. The wild cards are the problem. It is my opinion that preparations are indeed warranted because of the wild cards. I'm not expecting alot of fracas at the stroke of midnight. I'm expecting a slow crumble as the supply chain breaks down because of the transportation industry and failure of smaller companies to strive for compliance. It will bite us in the butt.

-- margie mason (mar3mike@aol.com), January 24, 1999.


Slick,

Thanks for the information. In some areas, though, the embedded systems problem could be more severe. Here's the link and a brief quote from a recent Chicago Tribune article:

http://chicagotribune.com/version1/article/0,1575,SAV- 9901010066,00.html

Ask Chicago's Y2K boss what single issue worries her most, and she'll answer in a snap.

"Water."

-- Kevin (mixesmusic@worldnet.att.net), January 24, 1999.


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