http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/article.html?s=asia/headlines/991216/world/afp/Silicon_Valley_on_war-footing_as_Y2K_approaches.html

Silicon Valley on war-footing as Y2K approaches

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 15 (AFPSilicon Valley in on a war-footing as the end of the millennium approaches, the date which could cause some computers and computer systems to crash.

Officials here in the birth-place of the world's high-tech industry say they are confident about the "Y2K" bug, but are prepared for anything.

"We can't guarantee networks will not have interruptions, because most networks rely on multiple vendors in addition to Cisco," Earnhardt said.

"We are 100-percent capable but our biggest challenge heading to January 1, 2000 is the unknown," said Cisco spokesman John Earnhardt.

Cisco Systems, the sector's leading maker of networking equipment, also says it is prepared.

Intel has already spent 84 million dollars to prepare for the year 2000, and predicts it will spend 105 million dollars before the work is done.

"Our core manufacturing and non-manufacturing systems are 100-percent capable," Calder said.

"We can't predict any scenario, but we feel we've done an adequate job assessing and testing our systems," said Bill Calder of Intel, the world's largest maker of the microchips that are the brains of computers.

"Our core manufacturing and non-manufacturing systems are 100-percent capable," Calder said.

Intel has already spent 84 million dollars to prepare for the year 2000, and predicts it will spend 105 million dollars before the work is done.

Cisco Systems, the sector's leading maker of networking equipment, also says it is prepared.

"We are 100-percent capable but our biggest challenge heading to January 1, 2000 is the unknown," said Cisco spokesman John Earnhardt.

"We can't guarantee networks will not have interruptions, because most networks rely on multiple vendors in addition to Cisco," Earnhardt said.

Over at Sun Microsystems, experts have been spending months working case by case on the issue with their biggest clients, and updating their Internet site with software solutions to ensure Sun programs will run properly after midnight, December 31.

"We'll have Y2K centers located in three different time zones to cover the roll-over period, just in case of unexpected events, but we're pretty confident that we won't have to face any major problem," said Sun spokeswoman Regina Schumann.

Other players in Silicon Valley say they aren't yet able to reveal how much they will spend on Y2K-related preparations -- both internally and for their clients.

But analysts predict the figure could rise to hundreds of Millions of dollars spent in the United States alone by private companies, governments and individuals to ensure that computers won't misread the first day of the new millennium, causing programs to crash.

Some go so far as to predict that 1.5 billion dollars will be spent on Y2K -- almost two times the amount the United States spent in real terms on the Vietnam War, or enough to fund 10 Apollo space programs.

In the fourth quarter of 1999, public relations campaigns designed to reassure investors and the public represented 80 percent of expenses of firms that could be affected by the millennium bug, according to research institute Gartner Group.

And even if high-tech firms aren't sounding the alarm, their employees will be spending New Year's Eve at their posts -- just in case.

At Intel 2,000 employees will be working that night to monitor microchip production at factories around the world as the fateful date marches with the time zones across the globe.

At Cisco Systems, 6,000 employees will be on hand to intervene on behalf of clients should problems arise

"Cisco is working on New Year's Eve, so that our customers don't have to," Earnhardt said.

Cisco president and CEO John Chambers will set the example by being on hand.

The main task will be to monitor systems in each world time zone as the hour passes.

That will give folks here on the west coast of North America a bit of breathing room -- the region is one of the last areas to pass into the new millennium, some 20 hours after the clock strikes midnight in New Zealand.

-- Pappa Smurf (not@home.com), December 16, 1999

Answers

Here's my favorite part:

In the fourth quarter of 1999, public relations campaigns designed to reassure investors and the public represented 80 percent of expenses of firms that could be affected by the millennium bug, according to research institute Gartner Group.

Gee, isn't it good to know they're spending their money on the tough stuff?

-- mommacarestx (nospam@thanks.net), December 16, 1999.

"...100-percent capable..."

There's a "new" compliance term. Or not.

Diane

See also...

Valley's New Year's Mix: Work And Play; High-Tech: Workers On Y2K Duty To Be Offered A Fun Atmosphere -- Minus Booze (San Jose Mercury News )

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 001vra

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 16, 1999.

I kinda like "...100% capable...", it doesn't limit itself and yet it doesn't really say anything specific either. Just right.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), December 17, 1999.

"The main task will be to monitor systems in each world time zone as the hour passes. That will give folks here on the west coast of North America a bit of breathing room -- the region is one of the last areas to pass into the new millennium, some 20 hours after the clock strikes midnight in New Zealand."

Statements like these are made so often. One of the major banks here (in Denmark) just said that they were 'fully Y2K ready' but that their control centre would be monitoring events in New Zealand (etc), giving them up to 12 hours to 'make final adjustments'.

Does anyone understand what can be done in such a time? I know that I would have no hope of finding and correcting any further errors in my code... who are these Superfixers?

-- Risteard Mac Thomais (uachtaran@ireland.com), December 17, 1999.

Changing the combinations on the vault and front doors.

Night train

-- jes a laughin ol footballer (nighttr@in.lane), December 17, 1999.