BBC: Kenya - Old Computers

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

For a modern, developed country with the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world, Italy is not well prepared.

The official body created to deal with Y2K met for the first time only in February 1999. Its head, Enrico Bettinelli, estimates that only 15% of Italians know what the millennium bug is and only 20% think it is a serious problem.

Professor Bettinelli believes that: "The whole system must consider the possibility of some sudden disruptions and should have emergency plans ready." He is especially concerned about systems directly linked to people's daily lives.

Extra pressure on resources

One particular worry which Italy will have to deal with is the large number of visitors expected for the millennium celebrations.

Rome is the focus for the world's one billion Catholics who will celebrate the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of Christ. Up to 25 million are expected to make a pilgrimage to Rome at some point in the year 2000.

Many will arrive by air and although Italy is by no means alone in having problems with its air transport systems, they will be made worse by this extra influx.

Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport said in May that a fifth of its software had not been checked. There were no plans to do so before September because of the risk of disrupting computer systems during the peak holiday season.

Even worse is Naples, Italy's third busiest airport, which does not expect to finish Y2K work until June 2000.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), August 25, 1999


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