| Datum | Länk | Egen kommentar |
| 1999-12-30 | Kortläsare slogs ut i England |
Det här är från Aftonbladets nätupplaga.
LONDON . Trots att Storbritannien räknas som ett av de bäst förberedda länderna inför millennieskiftet har 20.000 kreditkortsläsare satts ur funktion på grund av den så kallade millenniebuggen. Maskinerna har sedan i tisdags nekat transaktioner på grund av att den 1 januari 2000 tolkats som den 1 januari 1900. Storbanken HSBC, som placerat ut läsarna, säger att de programmerats för att hantera transaktioner under fyradagarsperioder, varför problemen började redan den 28 december. De kommer dock att upphöra från den 1 januari, hoppas banken. De befarade problemen kan alltså inte förväntas uppstå enbart i u-länderna, som har den sämsta beredskapen men å andra sidan en betydligt lägre datortäthet. En rad i-länder har också vidtagit extra säkerhetsåtgärder trots långtgående tester på förhand. Exempelvis stänger Israel alla sina kärnkraftverk över årsskiftet. - I stort sett vad som helst kan hända. Det kommer att inträffa en handfull händelser världen runt som bara kan beskrivas som katastrofala, säger Peter de Jager, en kanadensisk datakonsult som var en av de första att slå larm om millenniebuggen. Det främsta tecknet på människors oro är det stora antalet avbokningar av flygresor på nyårsafton och nyårsdagen. Även om flygbolagen säger sig ha läget under kontroll är rädslan större för vad som kommer att hända med flygledningssystemen, vilket betyder att det blir glest med plan i luftrummet. Peru meddelade i onsdags att ledningssystemen är säkrade, men likväl har hälften av alla flygningar från och till huvudstaden Lima ställts in. Brasilianska myndigheter meddelade att en tredjedel av nyårsflygningarna ställts in på grund av avbokningar. Internetoperatörer oroar sig inte i första hand för millenniebuggen, utan för virus som befaras slå till vid tolvslaget. Minst åtta sådana är kända, men även hackare väntas ta tillfället i akt. -- Vi förväntar oss en viss ökning. Vi väntar oss att hackare kommer att försöka maskera sina intrång som Y2K-problem, säger Kathy Fithen vid Carnegie Mellon University i Pittsburgh. Ett av de länder som tros komma att drabbas värst är Ryssland, som enligt experter i väst har en mycket dålig beredskap. Den amerikanska regeringen har erbjudit ambassadpersonalen fria hemresor för att slippa drabbas av eventuella datorhaverier och strömavbrott. Också kommunikationsproblem befaras, även om den ryska regeringen avfärdar farhågorna som överdrivna. Gemene man fruktar emellertid inte några stora problem. -- Amerikanerna har inga problem, så de har uppfunnit det här problemet för att ha något att ägna sig åt. Här har vi en massa annat att oroa oss för, som att hur vi ska ge barnen mat och våra dåliga löner, säger Moskvabon Jelena Merkulova. |
| 1999-12-30 | "Först den 21:a januari vet vi hur allvarligt problemet är", säger FN-expert |
The full impact of the year 2000 computer glitch will be largely hidden until mid- to late January, the head of a U.N.-sponsored Y2K data clearinghouse said on Wednesday. ''By the third week in January, we'll be able to really tell what the overall impact is,'' said Bruce McConnell, head of the International Y2K Cooperation Center, which is funded by the World Bank. Meanwhile, mistakes may pile up, cause ''lots of inconveniences,'' erode productivity and possibly disrupt world trade, McConnell told reporters. . . . |
| 1999-12-30 | En internetradiokanal i USA bevakar övergången | Sändningen börjar 02.00 på lördagmorgonen, svensk tid. Sändningen pågår i 48 timmar med fokus på USA. |
| 1999-12-30 | Följ övergången till nytt år i Australien | Länken går till en sida hos den australiska regeringen. Man skall löpande rapportera om incidenter och statusen i de olika territorierna kring övergången till år 2000. |
| 1999-12-30 | Bara 70% av svenska kommuner ska testa systemen i helgen |
Kan komma en och annan obehaglig överraskning på måndag för en del, alltså. Oroväckande att 8% av Sveriges kommuner inte planerar några extra förberedelser inför årsskiftet. Vilka kommuner är detta?
Det här är från IDG:
Nära 70 procent av landets kommuner passar på att testa systemen direkt efter årsskiftet för att kontrollera att allt fungerar.
Åtta procent har inte vidtagit några extra åtgärder inför nyårsafton. Det visar en analys av de planer och åtgärder som vidtas inom offentlig sektor som Tietoenator Public Partner gjort. I undersökningen ingår 60 kommuner, elva landsting och fem statliga verk. Stänger av datorerna
En del av de tillfrågade väljer att ha internet, e-post och First Class öppet över tolvslaget medan andra gör bedömningen att just dessa system stängs på grund av risken för sabotage. För att säkerställa att allt fungerar råder en stor aktivitet under de första dagarna på det nya året. Teknik, infrastruktur, hårdvara och tillämpningar ska testas. Drygt 12 procent av kommunerna kommer inte att bedriva särskild testverksamhet eftersom de bedömer att systemen är tillräckligt testade innan millennieskiftet. Bland landstingen kommer 75 procent att testa sina vårdsystem direkt efter tolvslaget. Övriga system testas den 1- 2 januari. |
| 1999-12-30 | 7% av amerikanska företag väntas uppleva systemkrascher |
Det här är från CNNfn.
The federal government estimates that as many as 7 percent of American businesses may fail because of computer problems stemming from the transition from 1999 to 2000. Some older computers may be set up to read the current year as "99." The machines could react unpredictably when the new year rolls over to "00." Most fixes for the problem involve changing hardware or software so that they use four-digit years. Computer experts have been warning companies to plan ahead for potential computer problems for months - in some cases, years. But some smallerbusinesses may have lacked the staff or time to do much before the holiday rush. In late October, 79 percent of companies had started but not yet completed year 2000 contingency planning, a survey by Massachusetts- based Cutter Consortium reported. No updates were available, but a Cutter analyst said the information technology consulting firm had received a surge of calls seeking help with planning in recent weeks. "My gut feeling is that there are a lot of people out there who are still scrambling," said the analyst, Sheila Green. Some consultants declined to be interviewed for this story because of concern about potential lawsuits from companies who might have problems regardless of whether the company had prepared. Experts differ on whether it's too late to prepare for the rollover. |
| 1999-12-30 | Paula Gordon kritiserar John Koskinen | Artikeln handlar om inbäddade system. Experten Paula Gordon menar att John Koskinen (utsedd av Bill Clinton att ansvara för y2k-samordning i USA) inte har grepp om problemet med inbäddade mikrochips. Hon hävdar vidare i starka ordalag att den federala regeringen i USA inte har tillräcklig förståelse för 2000-problemen och att dessa är underskattade. |
| 1999-12-29 | Washington D.C. rekommenderar 7-10 dagars förråd av mat |
Det här är från Washington Times. Kanske har D.C. Emergency Management Agency insiderinformation. Eller också är Washington D.C. mer sårbart än andra städer. Än mer uppseendeväckande: EMA rekommenderar att man tar ut pengar motsvarande 30 dagars utgifter...
The D.C. Emergency Management Agency's "Y2K Preparedness Guide" tells readers to "store a supply of seven to ten days worth of nonperishable foods per person." Meanwhile, most other jurisdictions have advised being prepared for only a few days. District of Columbia officials are urging residents to prepare for more than a week without private and public services as the new year approaches, though most other jurisdictions have advised being prepared for only a few days. The D.C. Emergency Management Agency's "Y2K Preparedness Guide" tells readers to "store a supply of seven to ten days worth of nonperishable foods per person." It also warns residents to "set aside enough cash to meet living expenses for at least a one-month period" and "consider renting or purchasing a generator." Peter G. LaPorte, the agency's acting director, said the guide is not intended to scare residents nor contradict the rosy picture Mayor Anthony A. Williams painted nine days ago. . . . |
| 1999-12-29 | "Infomagic" är tillbaka |
Han försvann från y2k-debatten för ungefär ett år sedan. Hans prediktioner var inte av det ljusa slaget om man säger så. Nu är han tillbaka och inleder en artikel med följande mening.
"I was wrong, it WILL be worse" Han vill inte att man publicerar något av hans material någonstans utan hans skriftliga godkännande så detta blir den enda mening jag kopierar. |
| 1999-12-29 | Gartner Group: 1-15 januari är bara början |
Under de första två veckorna av år 2000 kommer endast 10% av y2k-felen att komma upp till ytan. Resterande fel uppstår senare. Ropa alltså inte hej om det skulle inträffa få incidenter 1-3 januari.
- Y2K computer worries won't go away this weekend, even if nothing goes wrong. Glitches can be expected weeks, even months, into the new year. And a few may linger until 2001 and beyond. The Gartner Group, a technology consulting firm, estimates only 10 percent of all Y2K failures will occur during the first two weeks of January. Most Y2K planners are aware that Jan. 1 is no magic date, but they fear a quiet weekend might leave the public with a false sense of security. "There is too much focus on New Year's weekend," said Bruce McConnell, director of the International Y2K Cooperation Center. "If you think that the only time to worry about the Y2K bug is on Jan. 1, then you're underestimating the problem." Besides having new problems appear later in the year, glitches that strike on Jan. 1 might go unnoticed initially, even after employees return to work and restart computers. The full effects might not be felt until smaller glitches compound and disrupt business supply chains. Several weeks must pass, McConnell said, "to have a good idea just how big an event Y2K is." Ron Weikers, a Philadelphia attorney specializing in Y2K litigation, warned companies not to declare victory right away. Such statements, he said, could come back to haunt them. . . . If there are any problems involving embedded chips that control power plants and other major equipment, Koskinen said, they would most likely strike around Jan. 1. Beyond that, most glitches will probably be administrative, causing inconveniences such as incorrect billing - but no catastrophe. And they'll be more manageable because they won't hit all at once. . . . Koskinen's group will also look for trouble on Feb. 29, because some computers might not recognize 2000 as a leap year. Even Dec. 31, 2000, could be problematic because some computers might not be expecting 366 days next year. . . . According to the Gartner Group, 30 percent of all failures will have occurred before 2000. And problems, growing steadily each quarter, will peak early in the new year. But they won't completely disappear until after 2001. . . . |
| 1999-12-29 | Experter varnar för kärnkraftsolyckor i Öst |
Det här är från dagens nätupplaga av Aftonbladet Största hotet vid nyår: kärnkraftsolycka i öst Svenska experter varnar för svåra strömavbrott i samband med årsskiftet Det största hotet vid millennieskiftet – kärnkraftverken i öst. Experterna fruktar att elnätet i öst ska drabbas av störningar. Det kan orsaka allvarliga olyckor. – Det finns en viss oro för kärnkraftverken i öst, medger Sture Ericson, generaldirektör i Överstyrelsen för civil beredskap. Det är till hans myndighet alla svenska verk och länsstyrelser ska lämna rapporter under millennieskiftet. De ska sedan blixtsnabbt analyseras, sammanställas och skickas till regeringens expertgrupp. Deras första möte hålls klockan 13.30 på nyårsafton – totalt ska gruppen träffas åtta gånger fram till klockan 09.30 på nyårsdagen. Därefter sammanträder de varje dag till den 11 januari. Statsministern hos kungen – För att inte ta onödiga risker finns en rapportorganisation, säger Birgitta Heijer, statssekreterare på näringsdepartementet. Statsminister Göran Persson firar millennieskiftet på kungaparets galamiddag på Stockholms slott. Men han och fyra kollegor – försvarsminister Björn von Sydow, näringsminister Björn Rosen-gren, socialminister Lars Eng-qvist och justitieminister Laila Freivalds – är beredda att med bara tio minuters varsel inleda ett regeringssammanträde. Vad kan då hända? Generaldirektör Sture Ericsson ser ett orosmoln på himlen – kärnkraftverken i öst. – Det finns en osäkerhet. Vissa presskonferenser som har hållits i Moskva har inte direkt lugnat västliga observatörer, säger han. ”Beroende av elförsörjning” – Visserligen är inte de kärnkraftverken lika datoriserade som Sveriges, men de är beroende av elförsörjning. Om stomnäten slutar att fungera kan det bli problem. Aftonbladet har tagit del av en skrivelse som Statens kärnkraftsinspektion skickat till regeringen. SKI konstaterar att säkerhetssystemen i kärnkraftverken i öst sannolikt klarar årsskiftet eftersom de inte är datoriserade. Däremot slår SKI larm om att det kan uppstå fel i verkens övervaknings- och presentationssystem. Det kan i sin tur leda till att personalen feltolkar information, vilket ökar riskerna. – De måste då förlita sig på konventionell utrustning, men enligt våra informationer sker sådan träning, säger Christer Viktorsson, ställföreträdande generaldirektör på SKI. Under nyårsnatten kommer experter från SKI och Statens strålskyddsinstitut att noga följa utvecklingen. Själv delar dock Christer Viktorsson inte Sture Ericsons oro för vad som kan hända. Och här visar Aftonbladet vad som kan inträffa om ett kärnkraftverk tappar strömförsörjningen utifrån. Då upphör kylsystemet att fungera. Temperaturen i reaktorn börjar stiga och efter några timmar kan vi gå hem och hälsa. |
| 1999-12-29 | Anitha Bondestam: "Jag har laddat upp med konserver och tagit ut pengar ur bankomaten" |
Detta är från Expressen. Datainspektionens fd chef befarar sabotage på nyårsnatten Datainspektionens förra chef Anitha Bondestam, 58, befarar att datahackare går in för att sabotera vid millennieskiftet. Därför tänker hon fira nyårsnatten där hon kan elda i spisen om elen försvinner. – Dessutom har jag laddat upp med konserver och tagit ut pengar ur bankomaten, säger hon. Anitha Bondestam är i dag president vid kammarrätten i Göteborg, men hon har fortfarande koll på dataområdet. – Vi kan ha underskattat risken att oförutsedda händelser inträffar. Därför är det bra att ha extra batterier till transistorradion och lite proppar i proppskåpet, säger hon. Anitha Bondestam tror inte att de största datasystemen kommer att drabbas, men hon befarar att mindre enheter kan knäckas. – Jag kan tänka mig att någon vill göra ett avtryck just vid nyår och då slår till mot ett system där det märks. För inte så länge sedan la man ut en haschplanta över Telias hemsida. Det är så lätt gjort, så varför inte göra det vid millennieskiftet? Landet känns tryggare Att fira nyårsnatten på landet utanför Stockholm känns därför tryggare än att vara beroende av strömförsörjningen i staden. – Det smartaste sättet att visa att man är en duktig hackare är kanske att framkalla elavbrott och störa tv-sändningar. Jag ser till att ha vedträn att ta till om elen inte fungerar, säger Anitha Bondestam. Rikspolisstyrelsen har på uppdrag av regeringen bedömt säkerhetsrisker vid millennieskiftet. – I hotbilden har man uppfattat att det kan finnas en tävlingsinstinkt och en risk för att det extra säkerhetsmedvetandet lockar till att hackare vill pröva att knäcka brandväggar, berättar polissekreterare Carina Engman. Rikspolisstyrelsen varnar också för att hackare kan anlitas för kriminell verksamhet, även om detta inte tros ha skett i Sverige ännu. Festen kan urarta – För polisen är dock det största riskmomentet firandet i sig, inte tekniken. Vi har beredskap utifall bränder skulle uppstå eller om fester urartar, säger Carina Engman. Per-Erik Lundh, kanslichef på regeringens 2000-delegation, rekommenderar folk att se över sin tekniska utrustning och att inte ha datorerna i gång över tolvslaget. Dessutom ska man vara uppmärksam på tjuvlarm som är kopplade till persondatorer. – Men med brödrostar och mikrovågsugnar är det ingen fara. Vi borde fokusera mer på hur samhället fungerar totalt den 3 och 10 januari när all verksamhet ska dra i gång och olika system ska samverka, menar Lundh. |
| 1999-12-27 | Inga problem i Ryssland, säger ryssarna själva |
Följande finns att läsa i Aftonbladet:
Ryssarna fruktar inga Y2K-problem
MOSKVA. Kommer ryssarna att möta det nya årtusendet i utkylda bostäder utan el, gas och vatten alltmedan kärnvapnen rusar omkring på natthimlen? Nej, försäkrar myndigheterna och hävdar att risken för Y2K-problem är större i det långt mer datoriserade väst. Ändå har till exempel USA:s utrikesdepartement erbjudit de av sina diplomater, som inte behövs på plats, att resa hem över millennieskiftet. USA har flitigt varnat sina medborgare för att fira det historiska årsskiftet i Ryssland eller i andra före detta sovjetrepubliker. Erbjudandet om fri hemresa på skattebetalarnas bekostnad gäller UD-anställda i Ryssland, Ukraina, Vitryssland och Moldavien. Även Kanada, Australien och Nya Zeeland har kallat hem sina diplomater över nyår. För kvarvarande landsmän har de fem engelskspråkiga länderna, inklusive Storbritannien, gått ihop om ett temporärt konsulat på Moskvas internationella flygplats Sjeremetievo. Nordiskt lugn På andra ambassader i den ryska huvudstaden, även de nordiska, är upphetsningen långt mindre. De kommer alla att upprätthålla extra jour under nyårsnatten men har inte planerat för mycket mer. Om man får tro olyckskorparna riskerar väsentliga delar av energisystemen, transportväsendet, sjukvården och räddningstjänsterna att braka samman då datorerna skall försöka slå om från 99 till 00. Men ryska experter hävdar att farhågorna är överdrivna av den enkla anledningen att Ryssland och andra OSS-länder aldrig hunnit bli särskilt beroende av datorer. Dessutom har så gott som alla system i farozonen kontrollerats, uppgraderats eller bytts ut, påstår de ansvariga. Enbart gasjätten Gazprom har sett över 1 263 datorsystem som styr distributionen av naturgas inom landet och till andra länder. Elmonopolet Förenade energisystem (UES) har satsat över 90 miljoner kronor på en uppgradering av sina datorer. Atomenergiministeriet säger sig ha säkrat alla aktuella datorer. Atomenergiministern Jevgenij Adamov kommer ändå personligen att leda nyårsnattens arbete i den central i Moskva som alltid står i förbindelse med landets kärnkraftverk. Militären skall under utländskt överinseende ha Y2K-säkrat de strategiska kärnvapenstyrkornas datorer. Därtill finns redan amerikanska och ryska experter på plats i varandras länder för att kunna slå larm om något ändå skulle gå snett. Ja, det vill säga om telefonerna fungerar?! Stoppat flyg - Ingen fara! försäkrar de stora telebolagen Rostelekom och MGTS. Det enda problemet kan vara att för många försöker ringa samtidigt och blockerar varandra. Stora delar av Ryssland och övriga OSS har dessutom ett antikverat telefonnät, så fjärran från datorer och digital teknik som man över huvud taget kan komma. Flyget då? Allt klart, hävdar ryska luftfartsverket och flygbolaget Aeroflot som arbetat i två år och lagt ned över 800 miljoner kronor på Y2K-förberedelser. Rymdstationen Mir? Lugn. Alla datorer är avstängda i den numera obemannade stationen. Ukrainas luftfartsverk har tagit det säkra före det osäkra och stoppar all civil flygtrafik från 23.30 på nyårsaftonen och två timmar in på nyåret. Alla gruvor kommer också att stängas. Däremot kommer de ukrainska kärnkraftverken att drivas som vanligt. Myndigheterna säger sig garantera säkerheten. Men en belgisk civilingenjör, som arbetat med säkerheten vid olycksverket Tjernobyl, kommer för säkerhets skull att hålla sig borta. - Jag har hört myndigheternas försäkringar och beslutat att åka hem, sade Rainer Gúhring till The Moscow Times tidigare denna månad. |
| 1999-12-27 | Peter de Jager avslöjar: Hemligt samarbete mellan konkurrerande företag i Silicon Valley i y2k-frågan |
. . . From the very early days of my involvement in this debacle, I've been privy to a number of 'secrets.' The biggest secrets had to do with the coming together of organizations who were the fiercest of competitors and yet they realized that to solve Y2K properly they would have to cooperate, if only to coordinate how they would exchange data in the coming years. . . . Who is HTC? It's a formal collaboration between the following companies; AM&D, AMD, Arrow Electronics, Celestica, Cisco Systems, Compaq, Dell Computers, Digital Microwave, Exabyte, HCL America, Hewlett Packard, IDT, Intel, Jabil Circuit, LSI Logic, LoDan West, Marshall Industries, MCMS, Motorola, Qualcomm, Quantum, SCI Systems, Seagate Technologies, SGI, Solectron, Sun Microsystems, Symbol Technologies, Tektronix and Unisys. Their website is located at www.hightech2000.com. These are not companies you would normally see sitting at the same table. To say they include some of the fiercest competitors in Silicon Valley is a vast understatement. What could possibly bring them together and hold them together long enough to accomplish anything of value? The same thing which caused other companies to put critical new development to the side, the common threat known as Y2K. One of the primary Y2K concerns of any manufacturer is the supply chain. It only takes a single incident from a single supplier to cause a disruption to a manufacturing process. The more suppliers, the greater the risk. The companies in HTC, despite their competitive and independent nature, are unavoidably linked together by that supply chain. One broken link in the supply chain would affect several, if not all, of the HTC members. How much of a threat was this inter-linkage? A study by Pricewaterhouse Coopers identified just how important the supply chain had become. Each HTC member shared 20-50% of its supply chain with their competitors. Whether they liked it or not, the HTC member companies had become Y2K dance partners. The group of competitors had a single solitary goal. To access the threat posed by the supply chain. To understand the threat better they had to perform Y2K assessments of each company in the supply chain. . . . The entry fee to HTC was $15,000 per company, in return they received access to some 200 supply chain company assessments. . . . While the dollar savings are impressive, the real savings comes in time. Any one of the companies in HTC could afford to spend $200,000, they are hardly the poor relations of Silicon Valley. But what none of them had, any more than anyone else, was the time to go out and assess all their suppliers to this level of detail. . . . |
| 1999-12-27 | Problem för kärnreaktorer kan uppstå under veckorna som följer efter 1 januari, 2000, varnar FN-stödd organisation |
The world's 430 operating nuclear power plants in 34 countries should operate normally during the coming millennium date rollover, but performance problems could pop up in the weeks immediately following the New Year, according to a report issued today by the International Y2K Cooperation Center (IY2KCC). "Unless Y2K work continues in plants where resources have been limited, Y2K-produced errors in operational management and monitoring systems will degrade overall plant performance in the weeks following the date change," said IY2KCC director Bruce W. McConnell. "Over time, such a degradation in performance would reduce the margins of safety and efficiency in these plants." The report added that while many advanced nuclear plants employ digital systems that control plant operations and systems that initiate a reactor shutdown, the majority of digital systems are used in non-critical functions, such as monitoring fuel usage and demand load, and processing work orders. At the same time, however, the report stressed the dependence of nuclear power plants on the normal performance of "external infrastructures," including the electric power grid, telecommunications, water and fuel deliveries, declaring that "failures in these systems can require plants to modify, cut back or discontinue operations." To guard against the possibility of a temporary disruption in electric power grids, many nations - specifically those in the former Soviet Union states, India and Eastern Europe - will stockpile at least three weeks of diesel fuel to power the reactor cooling systems after a shutdown. Given popular awareness of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, specific attention was to Russia's nuclear power plants, most of which reportedly operate under a modified mixture of former Soviet and western technology. "Fortunately, generation units in these plants use older control systems, with very few date-sensitive components," the report said. "Date-sensitive systems in these plants do not trigger automatic actions that would affect safety." Year 2000 experts will be watching Russia's nuclear power plants for one other reason: They are the closest to the Greenwich mean time zone, and thus the world's first reactors to encounter the date rollover. The IY2KCC's report also sought to address the popular belief that the best remedy for reducing the risk of nuclear disaster over the New Year weekend might be simply to shut down the reactors deemed most vulnerable to a the millennium bug. But, the report argued, doing so could create more problems than it seeks to solve. "Shutdowns create their own risks. In addition, we note that keeping plants online increases the stability of the electrical distribution grid," the report said. "Because of the extensive Y2K work that has been done and the increased staffing and monitoring of nuclear power plant operations over the date change period, we do not believe there is a net safety benefit to a general shutdown of nuclear power plants during the period." The IY2KCC on Monday released a report on the Year 2000 preparedness of 190 countries that participated in its survey. The study found that most nations should expect a multitude of inconvenient but non-life-threatening Year 2000-related problems over the New Year's weekend and for a short time thereafter. |
| 1999-12-27 | Detroit uppmanar invånare att fylla badkaret med vatten |
Detroits vattenverk rekommenderar stadens invånare att fylla sitt badkar med vatten ifall något oväntat skulle inträffa över årsskiftet. Detta råd upprör både en lokal byråkrat och en av stadens invånare. En del har uppenbarligen svårt att inse att det faktiskt föreligger en risk för störningar. Även om den är liten så finns den där. "Better safe than sorry".
The Detroit water department's advice urging county residents to fill their bathtubs just in case "Y2Kaos" erupts is all wet, some local officials say. In the letter, water officials say the Detroit department has spent $50 million on Y2K readiness and expects no problems, but urges people to fill their bathtubs by 10 p.m. Dec. 31 for uses such as flushing toilets. The water used by residents in Flint and most other Genesee County communities is purchased from Detroit. But Genesee County Drain Commissioner Ken Harden said if area residents follow that advice, it will deplete the county's reserves. "It's too late in the game to start having a scare tactic out there," Hardin said. "If everyone fills the tub before midnight, it will deplete our water supplies." . . . . One resident Hardin doesn't have to worry about is Jared Hunt of Flint Township, who sees the Detroit water department letter as "yet another knee-jerk Y2K news tidbit. "More than likely, nothing's going to happen, and they know that," Hunt said. "All this does is get people all worked up unnecessarily. "I'm sick and tired of it. I'll be glad when Jan. 1 gets here." . . . . |
| 1999-12-27 | New Yorks polis har köpt 30 dagars förnödenheter |
De som förbereder sig har inget att frukta... Eller?
. . . The New York Police Department is preparing for Y2K as if it were getting ready for a siege, laying in 30-day stores of MREs, fuel and mobile generators. |
| 1999-12-27 | Papua Nya Guinea förlorar elförsörjningen 1 januari |
Här är nåt unikt! Ett kraftbolag som öppet deklarerar att man inte är 2000-säkrat. Omedelbart bad man regeringen om mer pengar för att åtgärda sina system. Med EN VECKA kvar till årsskiftet. They better hurry...!
Fast å andra sidan. Landets telebolag är inte heller 2000-säkrat. Så även om kraftbolaget mirakulöst nog skulle klara övergången till år 2000, kommer landets telekommunikationer att ligga nere. Och det betyder att kraftbolaget inte heller kommer att fungera. Papua New Guinea's state-owned Electricity Commission said on Tuesday it is bankrupt and expects major disruption to its computing and accounting systems over the New Year period if it does not get money to complete Y2K compliance work. The country's sole power authority is requesting government assistance, outside financing or may even raise its tariffs by up to 25 percent to cover the cost of Y2K work, according to local media reports. The Electricity Commission (Elcom) was appearing before a Papua New Guinea Parliamentary public accounts committee to report on fiscal and Y2K progress. Also before the committee was the country's national telecommunications provider, Telikom. It also said it needed more funds to complete Y2K work, but said it wished to recoup the money from government debtors. Elcom told the committee it had its Y2K plans in place, but no funds to implement compliance programs. It added that its power generation equipment and facilities would not be affected, but all other computer systems and buildings were at risk. |
| 1999-12-27 | Ännu en varning från programmeraren Ed Yourdon | I sin senaste uppsats reflekterar Ed Yourdon över deadlines, budgetbegränsningar och buggar. |
| 1999-12-27 | Är Microsofts produkter verkligen 2000-säkrade? |
Miljontals företag är mer eller mindre beroende av Microsoft Excel. Enligt Karl Feilder på konsultfirman Greenwich Mean Time finns det anledningar att ifrågasätta om Excel komer att fungera över årsskiftet.
Research published today suggests that software vendors are still moving the goalposts when it comes to the Year 2000 issue, despite the fact that the world is 10 days away from the end of the year. The research, published by Greenwich Mean Time, the Y2K remediation software company, has prompted Karl Feilder, the firm's president, to give a serious public warning over the Year 2000 IT issue. He warns that, in the last three weeks alone, Microsoft has announced changes in Year 2000 compliance status to more than 500 of its products. "Other popular vendors have also made important changes," he said, adding that, of the 500 products to which Microsoft has made changes this month, 40 percent require mandatory upgrades which Microsoft has yet to release, and 19 percent have changed their status from 'Y2K compliant' to 'under revision.,'" he said. Feilder said that, among the products that have changed compliance status are Excel 95, 97, and Excel 2000. He says this could have large-scale consequences for the many companies that believe their Year 2000 projects are complete. "With these late changes, it's now clear that no company can claim to be 100 percent ready for 2000," he said. "Yes, some of the changes are relatively minor. However, if you don't apply the latest patches, it could have significant consequences on your business, depending on how you actually use the software," he added. |
| 1999-12-27 | Irans banker är så "low-tech" att de inte berörs av y2k, säger anonyma experter i Iran |
Försök inte övertyga mig att Irans banker inte hanterar pengar elektroniskt. Det gör alla banker.
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran Sunday declared Jan. 1 a public holiday because of concerns about the possible impact of the so-called Y2K computer problem. The official news agency IRNA said the cabinet took the decision ``in order to prevent possible disruptions that may be caused by the millennium computer bug problem.'' Iranian officials had previously warned of possible disruptions in some public sectors including energy, communications and water if computers which read only the last two digits of the date mistake 2000 for 1900. But they said contingency plans were in place. Iran's post and telecommunications minister said earlier this month the country's telecommunications system would not face hitches, despite earlier warnings. Experts say Iran may be less vulnerable to the Y2K problem because of the low-tech nature of its banking and services and most industries. |
| 1999-12-27 | Londons finansdistrikt stänger under nyårshelgen |
Av rädsla för terroristaktioner stänger London sitt finansdistrikt.
THE City of London is bracing itself for violent attacks over the millennium holiday after threats by anarchists to start a new Great Fire of London. Police are to isolate the City after receiving a warning of the plan, as well as intelligence about Islamic fundamentalists and Irish republican splinter groups. Access will be possible only through seven tightly controlled entrances and exits. "It will effectively be a no-go area," said a Corporation of London spokesman. Armed troops will also be on stand-by at three bases around the capital in case of public disorder if the millennium bug causes chaos. The government's emergency planning committee, chaired by Jack Straw, the home secretary, will sit for 24 hours over millennium night and New Year's Day to monitor essential services and public safety. One barracks will be used as a helicopter port. A military communications network, including police and key Whitehall departments, will also stand ready. |
| 1999-12-27 | Två brittiska sjukhus uppmanar gravida kvinnor att ta med sig ficklampor |
LEICESTER, England (AP) - Would-be millennium mothers have been advised to bring a flashlight to the hospital in case the Y2K computer bug causes a power failure, two Leicester hospitals said Friday. Letters were sent to women likely to deliver their babies between Dec. 29 and Jan. 3 at Leicester General Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital Maternity Unit in Leicester, in central England. |
| 1999-12-27 | Antalet inställda flighter ökar hela tiden | Flygbolagen ställer in allt fler flygningar kring årsskiftet. Anledningen är drastiskt minskad efterfråga och farhågor för vad som skall hända med flygplan de ännu inte hunnit testa. |
| 1999-12-27 | Brittiska regeringen skickar delegationer till 76 platser världen över för att övervaka och assistera |
För att ha behandlat 2000-problemen som icke-problem så långe går man ganska långt nu. Helt plötsligt. Som en tjänst till brittiska medborgare.
The Government is to send teams of millennium bug busters to locations around the world in an attempt to warn Britons of the possible dangers they face as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, writes Jo Dillon . A special unit in the Foreign Office, staffed by three teams each of nine people, will be manning a 24-hour operation to field information from countries where the millennium comes earlier than in the UK. Reports giving details of any difficulties experienced abroad to the east are expected to reach London by noon on New Year's Eve. In all, 76 key sites have been chosen to supply regular updates through the night. "The 76 have been chosen because they are key for political and commercial reasons," a Foreign Office source said. "The first reports will give us any signs of infrastructure failure. And if there are any real difficulties, they will get in touch with key contacts in the Government." It is understood that each Government department has appointed a duty minister for millennium night in case of major failures, and they will be alerted to serious problems abroad in their fields. "The key is to get information about what is happening overseas into the public domain as quickly and as accurately as possible," the source said. "Part of the advantage of being strategically placed in the middle (Britain will see in the New Year 13 hours later than it strikes first) is that we will be able to see what is happening in other countries and feed information to ministers and experts. We will be able to use it to make sure the same thing is not going to happen here." British nationals abroad will be able to call on the services of a special "consular emergency unit", which will be on 24-hour standby, should they experience difficulties. |
| 1999-12-26 | Konsultföretag varnar för icke-kompatibla nätverk |
Om effektiviteten sjunker, minskar företagets vinst. Cash flow minskar. Miljontals företag blir riskutsatta.
Infoliant övervakar mjukvaruproblem förknippande med y2k-uppdateringar. Företaget övervakar också företagens beredskap inför y2k. Inga goda nyheter. Despite the billions of dollars Americans spent on Y2K remediation programs over the past three years, many have neglected major components of their IT infrastructure. That's the perspective of Kevin Weaver, executive vice president and co-founder of Infoliant Corporation. Infoliant manages an online database of Year 2000 compliance information that includes almost 50,000 discrete product records. According to Weaver, "I'm shocked at the number of inquiries we are still receiving from business just in the past week. They've left out much of their desktop and network systems focusing almost exclusively on mainframe and other mission critical applications. The reality is that if a network goes down and email isn't working -- that's pretty critical too." Compounding the problem is that many technology companies are racing to determine whether their own products are compliant. As Infoliant's Delta Report has shown, there have been 1156 changes to the compliance status of hardware and software products in the past three months. "Time is running out and it will be virtually impossible for call centers and help desks to handle all the calls that could come in," added Weaver. "The real issue is that of time, time that it will take to determine which product may be at fault and how to find that product's compliance and remediation information." . . . . |
| 1999-12-26 | Av Gulf-staterna har bara Bahrain och Dubai agerat tydligt i y2k-frågan |
Man skulle kunna tro att de oljeexporterande länderna i Mellanöstern driver y2k-frågan hårt. Man borde förvänta sig det. Trots allt är de helt beroende av sin export av olja, vars process innehåller både högteknologisk raffinering och sjöfart.
Deras liv är beroende av datoriserade avsaltningsanläggningar för dricksvatten.
Den här rapporten från Arabia Online (Associated Press) säger att bara två länder i regionen har ägnat y2k-frågan tillräcklig uppmärksamhet. Gulf Arabs largely indifferent to Y2K scare It is only in the banking centre of Bahrain and trading hub of Dubai that anything resembling real concern has emerged. . . . After near total silence while the western world wrung its hands over a potential computer-bug-fuelled Armageddon, unfazed Gulf Arab states have in recent days given reassurances that they are Y2K-ready. Most waited until the final approach of the millennium to tell their people that everything is just fine, but it is only in the banking centre of Bahrain and trading hub of Dubai that anything resembling real concern has emerged. Public indifference The public remains largely indifferent either way. The New Year coincides with the slow-down of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful fast from dawn to dusk, and people appear immune to New Year fever. Determining the Gulf's real readiness for any Y2K-related problems is difficult. Information in this region is seen as a privilege not a right and the notion of accountability both in the public and private sectors is rare. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) appears to be one of the few prepared to tell the public what it is doing to meet emergencies. Dubai's police force, one of seven across the UAE, has cancelled all leave and put its entire personnel on alert for December 31 and in the meantime has been carrying out drills to deal with possible air crashes. A special Dubai committee overseeing Y2K preparations on Tuesday declared all vital services, including banking, telephones, public services and oil production, were Y2K ready. But the Gulf's apparent lack of concern or inability to inform others has had some damaging repercussions for its business abroad. Britain this month warned regional carrier Gulf Air that it would be banned from British skies unless it came clean, prompting a flurry of assurances from the airline's offices in Bahrain that its aircraft were Y2K-compliant. Bahrain bucked the Gulf trend, establishing a special Y2K team months ago and establishing command centres throughout the public and private sectors. The central bank is to double the money in circulation inside the country to counter an expected increase in withdrawals from people fearing Y2K chaos, despite more than 200 banks being declared compliant. However the official guarding Bahrain against the bug joined the rosy predictions in the region. "There will be a very smooth transfer to the new millennium," said Shaikh Mahammad bin Atiyatullah Al-Khalifa. "The Y2K issue will be first felt in Fiji and it will work its way westward, so we, in Bahrain, will have plenty of time to see how it is developing," he said. Fiji is nine hours ahead of Bahrain. Qatar is perhaps less well prepared. The electricity and water ministry this week said it was compliant but also sent a message to businesses telling them to prepare "contigency plans." Oman has also said it is Y2K-ready, just 12 days before the date change, announcing unspecified "plans" to deal with emergencies. In Kuwait, national carrier Kuwait Airways Corp. is suspending flights for a 16-hour period over the New Year as a "precautionary measure." Kuwait has formed a special committee of government representatives and allocated some 50 million dollars to resolve Y2K problems, but says it expects public services to operate normally. In Saudi Arabia, the government set up a "higher national council" to study the problems linked with the start of the new millennium and to oversee the measures being taken by the public and private sectors. |
| 1999-12-26 | "System som INTE kraschar 1 januari, 2000 är största hotet" |
Det största hotet är inte att ett datasystem kraschar (om det inte är ett kraftverk eller ett telefonisystem). Värre är om ett system fortsätter att fungera, men fungerar felaktigt. Felen ackumulerar. Ingen upptäcker dem.
Sedan agerar man på den felaktiga informationen. Och det sprids till andra system.
Det är bättre att hela systemet kraschar 1 januari, 2000, säger Kathy Adams, som en gång i tiden ledde Social Security Administration's y2k-program. Artikeln i CIO Magazine är från 1996. Men är lika aktuell fortfarande. Y2k-problemen tar inte slut 1 januari. Det är då de börjar. "And it's not only a matter of what you have in-house. If you exchange data with others, which we do, not only with other government agencies but with employers as well, you have to agree on how they will be giving you their data." But the real challenge, she says, will be testing. "The worst thing that can happen is if an applic ation does the calculation but does it wrong. It would be better if it broke." |
| 1999-12-26 | FBI genom Daily Telegraph: "Undvik Times Square 31 december" |
A FORMER FBI chief for New York has issued one chilling word of advice for revellers planning to ignore terrorism threats and ring in the new millennium in Times Square: don't. Up to two million people in Times Square on December 31 will make the area one of the world's prime targets for terrorists, retired FBI chief James Kallstrom claimed yesterday. "The prudent thing at the turn of this millennium is to celebrate by yourself or with your family ... if there is a strike, it will be in a large gathering," he said. The warning forced New York mayor Rudolph Giuliani to concede there was no way of guaranteeing "absolute safety" in the face of international terrorist action. "Terrorism is something we try to guard against every single day," Mr Giuliani said. But the mayor will be spending the night in his specially designed bunker. Mr Giuliani said yesterday that he and the city's police, fire and other commissioners would be ushering in the millennial new year at the facility in the World Trade Centre. . . . |
| 1999-12-26 | Bob Bemer kritisk |
Bob Bemer uppfann ASCII. Han är kritisk till en del företags hållning i frågan om gemensam datumstandard. Och får medhåll av Alan Greenspan.
The only reason to do the same as everyone else is if you're going to exchange data containing year values with someone else. That's a good reason to be standard. But guess what the latest Y2K discovery is? There ISN'T any standard for representing dates in computers that is universally agreed and used! Merrill Lynch is setting up "firewalls" and says it will refuse to do computerized business with any entity not representing dates their way. Alan Greenspan admits this is a big danger. Joel Willemssen, U.S. Government Accounting Office [6], uncovered over 500,000 different electronic data interchanges in just the Government's mission-critical systems. And not all of these use anywhere near the same date form. |
| 1999-12-26 | Sverige, Norge och Tyskland på lista över länder som riskerar att drabbas extra hårt av y2k-problem |
De flesta av dessa listor brukar nästan uteslutande innehålla länder i tredje världen. Men på denna lista, från konsultfirman BSC Consulting, finns många västeuropeiska länder med. Det här är från Daily News, Newsbytes.
Y2K Will Take World By Storm
With just 10 days to go to the year-end, a report suggests that the world is in it up to its necks as far as the Year 2000 issue. Despite all the billions spent on planning and resolving the problem, the report said that the world is still not ready to meet the challenge. The report, from BSC Consulting, said that, after careful analysis of information each of the countries reported on around the world, there are still significant problems that will be caused by the various country interconnectedness with other countries. Put simply, this means that although the US and the western world have invested much time and money into solving Year 2000 issues, there still will be infrastructure problems as a direct result of the interactions that the West has with other less-prepared nations. The report acknowledges the late surge of activity around the world to meet the Year 2000 challenge, but said that many governments and business programs have been a mixture of incompetence and complacency. BSC said that the failure to test IT systems properly and judge knock-on effects of systems failures has led to a staggering reevaluation of countries' preparedness. Potential Year 2000 problem countries identified by the firm's report include Japan, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Australia, Belgium and the UK. Patrick Moore, BSC Consulting's director said that, to date, analysis of the Year 2000 issue has been undertaken on the wrong assumptions. "The only way to judge how well a country is doing is not by complacent assurance, but on how rigorous it has been in testing its IT and control systems and whether the interconnectedness is likely to cause related failures," he said. Moore admitted that the firm's findings will be controversial, as many of the countries found to be in the red category are those believed, to date, to be doing well. "We are now certain that the world is not prepared enough to avoid disruption and we will now have to wait and see how inconvenient this will be," he said. Hoppas verkligen de har fel... |
| 1999-12-26 | Asiatiska företag oroar sig över sina leverantörer |
De säger att DE SJÄLVA är 2000-säkrade. Men de är inte alls lika övertygade att deras LEVERANTÖRER är det. Om de inte får sina insatsvaror eller pengar i tid kan de drabbas mycket hårt. Kanske till och med konkurs?
Leading manufacturers in Asia express confidence they are prepared for the Year 2000 computer problem. But when asked about their suppliers, they are far less certain. Corporations otherwise amply prepared could be crippled by Y2K disruptions of their suppliers. It's an unsettling scenario for such technology-dependent nations as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore -- and the United States. For big industries like auto and consumer electronics makers, falling just one part short could shut down entire assembly lines. Especially susceptible are companies with "just-in-time manufacturing" systems, a technique pioneered by the Japanese -- and widely used by Detroit -- in which parts are obtained only as needed to keep inventories low and profit margins high. Mindful of Y2K's potential for disruption, many big manufacturers have broken the mold for this one-time event, stockpiling anywhere from a few days to a few weeks' supplies prior to Dec. 31. But many smaller manufacturers have not. That means any Y2K problems upstream in the supply chain might not be felt for weeks -- but could then cause assembly lines from Osaka to Detroit to grind to a halt. Worldwide, only 26 percent of all companies have arranged alternate supply or distribution channels. Companies with more than 500 employees are doing somewhat better, with 45 percent having alternate suppliers, according to the Massachusetts-based technology research group International Data Corporation. The research group forecasts $22.8 billion in losses to businesses worldwide from Y2K-related failures and predicts a ripple effect: for every dollar lost by one company, business partners will suffer 70 cents in losses. . . . At the end of October, only 75 percent of small- and medium-sized companies in Japan had completed Y2K repairs -- far lower than the nearly 100 percent for banks and 92 percent for companies in general, government studies show. . . . Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the Japanese maker of electronic goods under the Panasonic brand, says it is sure that at least 95 percent of its 18,000 suppliers -- 6,000 of them overseas -- are Y2K-compliant. But Matsushita, which was increasing inventory on some parts, is worried about parts that are in tight demand, such as liquid crystal displays and computer chips. "If the Y2K bug hits those areas, the operation will be down immediately," said Matsushita spokesman Akira Kadota. Japanese government officials insist plants will be humming along, more or less just-in-time, with no major trouble after New Year's. . . Ekonomisk kris runt hörnet? |
| 1999-12-26 | USA skickar brandsläckare och brandbilar till ryska kärnanläggningar |
The Defense Department this week delivered thousands of fire extinguishers and dozens of fire trucks, computers, printers, fax machines and mobile radios to Russia, where they will be used to bolster the safety of that country's nuclear storage facilities during the Year 2000 date change. Responding to a request by the Russian Ministry of Defense for help in preparing for potential widespread Year 2000 failures, the Pentagon established the Cooperative Threat Reduction Y2K Outreach Support program under the guidance of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). The $6 million effort, funded by DOD, provides Russian-manufactured heavy equipment, as well as communications gear, that can be used if Year 2000-induced power failures affect security and safety systems at Russia's nuclear weapons storage facilities. . . . DOD has delivered 35 fire trucks, 6,500 fire extinguishers, 15 lifting trucks, 22 portable generators and 700 uninterrupted power supply replacement batteries. The department also contracted with Raytheon-Hughes to buy $500,000 worth of computers and office automation equipment that will be used at Russia's 50 Y2K Watch Centers and is negotiating for the delivery of 350 mobile radios. . . . "We finally convinced them that they did have a problem," said Ken Hong Fong, DTRA's Year 2000 program manager. "We actually tested one of their premier security systems and showed that it wasn't Y2K-compliant," he said. Equipment not yet delivered is scheduled to arrive in Moscow before Dec. 31, Oliver said. Defense contractors Raytheon-Hughes and Bechtel Corp. are handling the logistics of delivering the equipment and have personnel stationed in Moscow. . . . |
| 1999-12-26 | Med de ursprungliga definitionerna på "y2k compliance" skulle USA:s offentliga sektor vara 75% "compliant" och inte, som man hävdar, 99,9% "compliant" |
Warren Bone har undersökt vad den amerikanska regeringen har rapporterat om y2k-framstegen.
Why is a table of the federal government's mission critical systems so important? After all, they did say they were 99.9% compliant. The reason this is so important is that not once during the two and one-half years of reporting has the government reported the same number of mission critical systems. One would expect systems to be identified and inventoried in Phase I of the project, and to remain somewhat at that number throughout. You will see from my table, footnote 1, that Mr. Koskinen (Chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion) even explains these reductions from report to report as, "...reevaluated which systems are critical," meaning the agencies had determined that systems they first identified as mission critical to the U.S. Government, actually were not mission critical after all...so they took them off the list of mission critical systems. . . . The important thing to recognize is that as the count of these systems drops each quarter, and as other systems are made compliant, the percent compliant obviously is higher than it would have been had those systems not been reclassified. . . . In the table below you see that in November 1997 the government had identified 8,589 mission critical systems. Watch the numbers drop leading up to the deadline the president set to have them all completed: 31 March 1999. An all time low count of 6,123. Government reported 92% compliant at that point and had taken 2,466 mission critical systems off the mission critical list. THEN the count starts up again. (Maybe no one will notice!?) NOW...look at the "final" report data that Congressman Horn released with his "Report Card." (Mr. Horn has also been critical of the government's lack of progress.) The count was up to 6,438 in November 1999. Back to about where it was a year ago. . . . So, what I have done with my table below is to show what percent compliant our federal government would be showing if they had NOT reclassified 2,414 mission critical systems that were identified as of November 1997. Using the original basis (remember our example?) the percent compliant is only 72%. Number compliant 6,167 divided by 8,589 (the original number at November 1997) = 72%. The government gained a full 28% by simply taking systems off the mission critical list over the last 2 1/2 years. . . . My Earlier Projections In my 28 October 1999 report, and based on August 1999 data, I projected: That we would see another report dated around 15 November and issued about 15 December. It was dated 15 November, issued 14 December. That on that report the government would be showing 100% ready. It actually reported 99.9% ready. And I have been using round numbers all along, so "100%" it is. That the ACTUAL compliant percentage, DISREGARDING all the reclassifications, would be about 75%. It was 74% based on Mr. Horn's report data, and 72% based on the OMB report data. Horn wins for getting closest to my projection. OMB loses. Both are "about" 75%. . . . And finally, I projected that all of this would "make the government's numbers come out just right: 100%. Just in time!" DONE. |
| 1999-12-26 | Venezuela: 50000 döda, 200000 hemlösa. Dags att börja åtgärda datorsystemen nu? | En av världens största oljeproducenter och -exportörer, Venezuela, befinner sig i en marig situation. |
| 1999-12-26 | När börjar år 2000 runt om i världen? | Följ länken och se efter själv. |
| 1999-12-26 | Anti-kärnkraftsorganisationer säger att kärnkraftsindustrin inte är redo för millenniumskiftet. NRC säger annorlunda. |
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has not taken enough steps to make sure that the nation's 103 operating nuclear power plants are ready to handle the Year 2000 date change, and as a result should be shut down over the New Year's weekend, said the Y2K World Atomic Safety Holiday, a coalition of 50 public interest groups. . . . The Atomic Safety Holiday group, speaking today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., fronted a variety of speakers whose opinions of the NRC's claims of nuclear Year 2000 readiness reflected skeptical criticism. Nuclear power is "dangerous today, dangerous tomorrow and dangerous on New Year's Eve," said Jim Riccio, staff attorney for Ralph Nader's Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy Project, so a stand-down on the New Year's weekend is essential. "There is a legitimate basis for this concern," Riccio said. "The NRC did not require nuclear power licensees to state why or how the Y2K problem had been suitably addressed. There is still some question as to the suitability of the electric grid." NRC spokesman Victor Dricks vehemently disagreed with this assessment. "We don't believe the shutdown of the operating nuclear plants is necessary or warranted. The safe operation of the nuclear plants is expected to contribute to a stable and reliable power grid during the transition and we have confirmed that all 103 operating reactors are fully Y2K ready," Dricks said. "We have done that on the basis of reviews of information that were supplied to us by the nuclear power industry as well as by reviews, audits and independent inspections of all the facilities." . . . . The NRC also rejected the Nuclear Information and Resource Service's request to run "full-scale emergency drills in 1999, covering a range of potential computer failures" because it said that this is not be necessary, said Paul Gunter, that group's director of the Reactor Watchdog Project. . . . Dricks disputed that the NRC is merely covering for the industry that it is supposed to regulate. "The charge that we're coddling the industry or are not an independent regulatory agency is groundless," Dricks said, adding that nuclear power plants already have "done everything possible to insure that they will be able to operate safely." He also said that the NRC's emergency operations center in Rockville, Md., will be fully manned throughout the date change, and that, "We will have resident inspectors in every control room in every plant in the country, and we will...take whatever action is necessary to protect the public health and safety." . . . . |
| 1999-12-21 | Ett dokument man inte kan läsa för många gånger |
Det här dokumentet har funnits på webben sedan 1997. Jag har tidigare länkat det. Det hänvisar till ett uttalande från den amerikanske centralbankschefen Alan Greenspan. Han säger att det inte räcker med 99% 2000-säkring. För bankerna måste det vara 100%. Är det det? Ingen vet.
. . . When the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 1999, many computers could malfunction or even shut down. At financial institutions, it could mean errors in checking account transactions, interest calculations, or payment schedules. It could mean problems with ATM systems or credit and debit cards. It could affect bank recordkeeping, investments, currency transfers, and legal liability. It might interfere with payment systems, both here and abroad, and affect EFT transfers for payroll or pension recipients. It takes little imagination to picture the ricochet effects that malfunctioning computer systems could have on important bank operations. . . . Experts also emphasize that the problem must be fixed properly and on time if Year 2000 related problems are to be avoided. I was intrigued by a statement Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan made a couple of weeks ago. He pointed out that 99 percent readiness for the Year 2000 will not be enough. It must be 100 percent. Thus, the message seems clear: all financial institutions must be ready; federal and state regulatory agencies must be ready; data processing service providers and other bank vendors must be ready; bank customers and borrowers must be ready; and international counterparties must be ready. . . . |
| 1999-12-21 | Skribent på New York Times fortsatt orolig |
. . . "Our best clients still have 40 to 50 errors per millions of lines of code," said Richard E. Evans, an analyst with Meta Group of Stamford, Conn., a consulting firm that provides information on verification tools and services. "Half of those could corrupt data or crash systems." That adds up to thousands of potentially serious flaws for banks, insurance companies and others. The government and most of corporate America have declared that virtually all of their critical systems will function normally when Jan. 1 arrives. But because only a portion of most computer code is actually tested to make sure the year "00" will be correctly interpreted, even the most confident computer managers anticipate at least minor flaws. Thus, as the repairs and testing wind up, Year 2000 boils down to one pressing question: Since stamping out every Year 2000 date problem is impossible, has the caseload of miscalculations and crashes been reduced to manageable levels? For the real estate company, the mirage of clean code disappeared when Mr. Parwani adjusted his scanning tactics for the obscure code in which the program was written. A three-day review of close to 2.5 million lines of the software vendor's supposedly Year 2000-ready code identified about 250 flaws. "We found at least 10 flaws that would have required several days to fix," said a programmer for the real estate company, which allowed a reporter to observe the procedure on the condition that it not be identified. "They would not have stopped business but they might have interfered with things like tracking how long rents are overdue." |
| 1999-12-21 | En fråga som nästan "glömts bort" i debatten - inbäddade mikrochips |
Lite om inbäddade mikrochips. Den här NIST-rapporten målar upp ett mycket komplext problem. Det finns någonstans mellan 25 och 70 miljarder inbäddade mikrochips världen över. De flesta av dessa mikrochips är INTE datumkänsliga. Men de som är datumkänsliga måste finnas och ersättas. Ett stort problem är att hitta de mikrochips där datumfunktionen inte är helt uppenbar:
A confusing aspect of the embedded system problem is that embedded systems with real-time clocks are often used to monitor and control other embedded systems that may or may not have their own RTCC. If the controlling system fails because of a Year 2000 problem, then the controlled devices fail by definition. The question remains, did the controlled device fail due to the controlling device failure, or did it fail due to a problem in its own RTCC? There is no way to know without testing. De som är ansvariga måste testa system som innehåller inbäddade mikrochips. Testing embedded systems can be costly and time consuming, but it must be done. Not all systems have to be tested immediately. The priority should be placed on mission-critical and safety-critical systems. Each embedded system should be tested individually and in concert with interoperating systems and external sources of dates. Testing can be accomplished by looking for and physically testing existing real-time clock calendars, date processing routines in application software, device drivers that process dates, and dates from other external sources that may be communicating with the device under test through local and wide area networks. Applying the guidelines described in this article may give organizations a means of achieving a high degree of confidence in their systems. Ändå finns det få indikationer på att detta verkligen görs. Och allmänheten är lyckligt ovetande om detta problem, eftersom media tydligen "glömt" att rapportera om det. Embedded systems control much of the infrastructure of the industrialized world. If not properly addressed, problems related to the Year 2000 transition will degrade embedded systems and therefore have negative effects in the infrastructure. The most commonly recognized problem occurs when the date supplied by the real-time clock calendar (RTCC) contains a 2-digit year. This may cause a problem on or after midnight, December 31, 1999, when the date rolls over to January 1, 2000. In those systems with this date problem, any software layer in control of the embedded system may interpret the 00 in the date as 1900, not 2000, which can potentially throw off time or date computations. 00 may also be rejected as an invalid year. In these cases, embedded systems with such problems may not operate as designed and thus cause control problems or malfunctions. If the embedded system is involved in a mission-critical or safety-critical system, there may be severe repercussions due to an embedded system failure. Proper testing is the most reliable way to identify potential embedded system Year 2000 problems. This article describes issues and priorities for testing these systems. . . . Another problem of Year 2000 testing stems from three areas where date information is transmitted between devices. The first area concerns proprietary data encoding used in many embedded devices built as single units operating with other embedded devices from the same manufacturer. In these cases, the data passed from one embedded device to another cannot be read by testing instruments that were not specifically made by the same manufacturer for testing the devices in question. Third party testing instruments often do not detect the presence of dates in data transmissions that are encoded in proprietary codes. Hence, if a date is not detected, the embedded device may not be tested according to the testing policies used by some large organizations. The second area involves the windowing solution used in remediation. In windowing, a pivot year is defined to express the interpretation of 2-digit years that belong in the 20th or 21st centuries. For example, a pivot year of 1950 states that all 2-digit years in the range 50 to 99 belong in the 20th century and all 2-digit years in the range 00 through 49 belong in the 21st century. If a sending device uses 1950 as the pivot year, but a receiving device uses a different pivot year, say 1990, then problems arise in the interpretation of the 2-digit years transmitted as part of a date. The sending device may see 89 as belonging in the 20th century, but the receiving device may decide that it belongs in the 21st century, thus throwing any date and time calculations off by a wide margin. The effects of this problem may be exhibited immediately as a failure if future dates are involved in the computations. The third area is based on the premise that repairs may have been made to an embedded device to correct its date and time processing, but the repairs may not have been made or may not have been made in a compatible way to a device receiving information from the repaired device. This can happen in systems where one embedded system controls or synchronizes the operation of other embedded devices, even if not all of the embedded devices have real-time clock calendars. The effect is that data properly formatted to correct for the Year 2000 problem do not line up with the format expected by the receiving embedded device. For example, an embedded device may transmit a 4-digit year to a device that only understands 2-digit years. A corollary to this problem is the data offset problem whereby the last 2 digits of the year may appear to be valid to the receiving device, but the rest of the information is pushed off alignment by the 2 extra digits representing the century in the expanded date. This situation may not be caught immediately and may have long-term consequences weeks or months after the data becomes corrupted. . . . THE PROBLEMS OF TESTING EMBEDDED SYSTEMS Embedded systems testing is not an easy task to accomplish. Various factors play into this including the following: Unknown embedded devices located in sealed units and components within components. Devices with known problems that have not yet been remediated. Difficulty in working on embedded devices because of the environment, such as those located within hazardous areas. Hard-wired embedded components that cannot be replaced due to design issues or lack of replacement parts. Firmware or software that has been patched, but not documented. Lack of source code for software used in the embedded device. Lack of a means of setting date and time, i.e., no apparent real-time clock calendar or no data entry mechanism. Date usage that is not apparent and consequently overlooked. This last factor is especially pernicious since many embedded devices use real-time clock calendars that were developed during the 1960s, 70s, 80s, and early 90s when the date and time were used as a single string consisting of year, month, day, hours, minutes, seconds, etc. in the form YYMMDDhhmmss. Using this type of embedded device, calculating elapsed times required the use of the date in addition to time. Later devices provided the date in the form of an epoch or base date, and a counter of elapsed units of time, typically seconds, since the epoch. . . . Embedded devices that do not apparently use dates in elapsed time calculations are being ignored in some embedded systems testing. This is a major oversight in the testing process since there are still embedded devices in existence that do not use the epoch and counter method, but the older date and time method. TESTING EMBEDDED SYSTEMS The elapsed time problem and the data transmission problems often cannot be detected in standalone device testing. Unless the tester has designed cases to test specifically for these situations, there is no guarantee that experimental end-to-end testing will detect these problems. The most accurate way to find Year 2000 problems in embedded systems is to perform on-line end-to-end testing. This is not likely to happen for several reasons. Because there are so many embedded systems in existence, not every system can be tested before January 1, 2000. In addition, testing individual or connected embedded systems and external sources of dates is a very complex proposition. The fear of damaging systems in an on-line test is probably the greatest deterrent to performing embedded systems tests, but there are methods that can be used to provide a sense of the risk involved in not testing. A suggested method entails triage by assigning a very high priority to those embedded systems in mission-critical or safety-critical applications. A confusing aspect of the embedded system problem is that embedded systems with real-time clocks are often used to monitor and control other embedded systems that may or may not have their own RTCC. If the controlling system fails because of a Year 2000 problem, then the controlled devices fail by definition. The question remains, did the controlled device fail due to the controlling device failure, or did it fail due to a problem in its own RTCC? There is no way to know without testing. Some guidelines to use in testing embedded devices and sources for dates include the following: Test embedded systems individually and also in concert with other embedded systems and external sources of dates in on-line end-to-end tests. In end-to-end tests, be aware of synchronization issues where multiple embedded devices are controlled by an external device or other embedded system. If complete end-to-end testing is not possible, individual subsystems can be tested to minimize any risk of system downtime. Physically check for the existence of a real-time clock calendar. We recommend that manufacturers' statements of Year 2000 compliance or readiness be used only as a last resort to make any determinations since a manufacturer's definition of compliance or readiness may not meet the requirements of a particular environment. Physical testing can be accomplished through several means appropriate to the device in question. This may be accomplished through external testing instruments, signal analyzers, or test software designed specifically to look for date problems. An indirect method of end-to-end testing involves setting machine test parameters and observing how the functioning of the machine changes after the embedded system senses these settings. If unexpected results occur, one or more devices may have problems. Embedded systems can communicate or interoperate with other devices or with external date sources, such as PCs, workstations, databases, user input, or LANs and WANs. The data transfers between the embedded system and the external devices, users, or systems must be checked to determine if dates are being sent to or from the device in question. Both mainframe and embedded systems should be tested including devices with identical model numbers, even if they were manufactured recently. Mainframe and embedded system date length compatibility should be tested though 10/10/2000. This is a primary situation in which modifying an embedded system by moving from a 2-digit to 4-digit year may cause problems in alignment of the data read by an application program. Experience in conducting embedded systems repairs found this situation to be one of the major causes of problems after fixes were effected. Different platforms may use different time and date formats and different methods of computing date/time measurements. Therefore, interactions between different types of platforms should be tested. In any of these cases, if a date or real-time clock calendar, or access to either, is found, the next step is to proceed to remediation. CONCLUSION The task of finding, testing, and fixing embedded systems with Year 2000 problems is a complex issue. If an organization waits to perform these tasks after December 31, 1999, then the costs can be much greater. These costs can include repairing collateral damage to systems and equipment from cascading problems and the expense in time and resources needed to find the real cause of the problem. Since there is no way to determine what combinations of factors will actually cause a failure, it may be difficult to determine when a failure has actually occurred. If a determination can be made, it may be possible to fix the problem if repair parts and technicians can be located, and the environment is amenable to making the repairs. Testing embedded systems can be costly and time consuming, but it must be done. Not all systems have to be tested immediately. The priority should be placed on mission-critical and safety-critical systems. Each embedded system should be tested individually and in concert with interoperating systems and external sources of dates. Testing can be accomplished by looking for and physically testing existing real-time clock calendars, date processing routines in application software, device drivers that process dates, and dates from other external sources that may be communicating with the device under test through local and wide area networks. Applying the guidelines described in this article may give organizations a means of achieving a high degree of confidence in their systems. |
| 1999-12-21 | Något så ovanligt som en ekonom som tror det blir problem år 2000 |
Joe Bradley: "They might be less convenient and less efficient, but many failed systems will be made to work, one way or another." Joe Bradley is an economist who has worked in government and academia, and who now is employed in the financial industry: "In a nutshell, it is very likely to be bad. There are too many things that can go wrong for all or even an overwhelming majority of them to have been fixed. Systems will fail...lots of systems, whether computers used principally for accounting or the ubiquitous embedded chips. While we focus our attention on whether we will have the convenience of continuous electrical power, though, we neglect the strong possibility that there will likely be serious social chaos in many pockets around the globe. The effects of the disruptions within these will inevitably spread, through one vector or another, causing imbalance elsewhere. Clearly, the change will not be sudden, but neither will it be unnoticeable. "It does not help in the least that the world is going into the New Year in a substantially unstable economic condition. With the continuing ailments of Japan, the redistribution of manufacturing and trade activity is continuing to occur; ever-shifting trade agreements and international alignments merely muddle the situation. Populations are affected. The implementation of the Euro this year was an act of dubious merit, but it has served to radically modify the political/diplomatic dynamic in Europe, with a lot of softened rhetoric and (apparently) vigorous attempts to make this 'union' work, despite the complications caused for internal economic policies. The financial market in the United States certainly gathers the most attention in the media, but the enormous bubble that modified tax laws have created in the U.S. equity market (IRAs, mutual funds, 401(k)s, etc.) is not just confined to the U.S. In today's world of global trading, there has been a spillover effect into other markets — most of the major equity market indices from around the globe are higher today than they were the day before the Hong Kong crash; some are more than twice as high! In the U.S., tax-deferred annuities have allowed the small saver to obtain previously unheard of rates of return, but as soon as those small savers begin to lose principal, expect a catastrophic decline in the market. "In this environment of instability, virtually any factor that adversely affects equity valuations will ultimately affect economic conditions, and there are a lot of things that can (and many will) affect equity valuations. At the foundation of what was once called 'political economy,' but which divided into Economics and Political Science over 100 years ago, is that the reality of economic circumstances dictates the exercise of the tools of any political ideology. Ideally, the group's leadership (national, communal, tribal, alliant... whatever) would take whatever actions necessary to adapt the old 'order' to the new reality. Unfortunately, the exigencies of political leadership make expedient action necessary, and the best way to distract a people's attention from their own misfortune is to find the 'bad guy,' the enemy on whom the group's troubles can be blamed. For many groups, this will be the nearest neighbor or neighbors. In Africa and in parts of Asia, I anticipate (at least) border wars if Y2K impacts are severe; the same may hold true for parts of Latin America. Other groups will be more sophisticated in their assessment of their problems, and the technology based in the United States will become the evident tool of their internal destruction. The diplomatic relationships in the world may radically change, and the structure of alliances may shift dramatically. The economic repercussions of this are inestimable. "A three-day 'bump in the road' may take on the characteristic of being twelve years high. "There is another side of human behavior that must also be taken into account. Those of us who are truly concerned about the possible effects of Y2K tend to dismiss the nay-sayers retort concerning human ingenuity. We who 'get it' tend to operate with the current technological status quo as a benchmark (and, I suspect, most of us feel that it is a pretty primitive benchmark, at best). We refuse to accept the idea that behavioral patterns are resilient (albeit taking more time to adapt in stable societies than among those who are familiar with catastrophic change), but this common characteristic of our species could actually help to minimize the disruptions caused by Y2K failures. There are lots of ways to work around the majority of the failures that might occur. They might be less convenient and less efficient, but many failed systems will be made to work, one way or another. In this way, the impacts of Y2K will be diminished. However, to overcome the possible mass of disruptions that could occur next year, some sort of coordination will be necessary on a worldwide basis. I do not see the necessary sort of leadership evident among today's world leaders or within the geopolitical structure of current international relations. The result will be delays in the management of the situation. "With regard to specific industries, energy is by far the most at risk. Our world still relies on fossil fuels for the vast majority of its insatiable demand for power. However, the energy industry depends directly on so many other industries (of which transportation is the most important) that are, in turn, directly dependent upon energy, that a simple failure in the supply chain could cause a more general and complicated collapse of an industry that is central to the functioning of virtually every other industry." |
| 1999-12-21 | Kina väntas drabbas av stora problem |
Not fully prepared for Y2K, China is accepting that there will be some year-end computer failures, including the risk of office towers shutting down, hospitals doing without advanced surgical equipment and parts of the countryside going black. China didn't begin work on the Year 2000 computer bug in earnest until 13 months ago. So it had no choice but to resort to computer-system triage, focusing money and manpower on critical government agencies, major cities and industries while leaving the rest to fend for themselves. Officially, the strategy has paid off. The government has said there will be no major disruptions as China passes into the new year. Chinese and foreign economists claim that any glitches -- which are likely to be felt through the first three months of 2000 -- won't harm the economy. "China is better prepared than many other countries in the region," said Austin Hu of the World Bank, which gave Beijing two $100,000 grants to work on preparing for Y2K. But behind the optimism lies much unease and uncertainty. In a country as vast as China, even the government's top Y2K troubleshooter, Zhang Qi, admits she is not sure how smaller cities are faring, and many businesses have remained blase despite official pleading to take the threat seriously. . . . Only the banking and aviation sectors run the large-scale mainframe computer networks most susceptible to Y2K problems, said Guo Liang, an Internet expert at the government-run China Academy of Social Sciences. . . . In keeping with the country's make-do approach, hospitals in Beijing were ordered to inspect all equipment and mark those suspected of having Y2K problems with a red tag. That equipment may not be used over the sensitive New Year's period and again in late February, Chen said. "This was done in major hospitals, but we cannot vouch for smaller ones," Chen said. He added that while planned surgeries may be affected, emergency rooms have been ordered to make sure all equipment and back-up generators are Y2K-safe. . . . The civil aviation administration ran drills using short-wave radios to contact airplanes in case communications systems at major airports and air traffic control centers fail. Testing outside those sectors, for example in the postal service, has been less careful, experts familiar with the government's efforts said. Foreign firms have also complained that the government's unwillingness to release information has hampered their efforts to prepare. . . . |
| 1999-12-21 | Dominobrickorna kommer att fortsätta falla under hela år 2000, säger expert |
Y2K kommer inte att vara en endagshändelse, enligt Norman Dean, chef för Center for Y2K and Society.
. . . for the past several months, there has been a flood of press releases from government agencies, banks, utilities, and manufacturers reassuring the public that they are Y2K ready. . . that the only thing we have to fear is panic. The ultimate reassurance came two weeks ago, when President Clinton told us that we do not have to store any food. . . the nation’s infrastructure will hold. At about the same time, the President’s Council on Y2K Conversion released its guidelines on personal Y2K preparation and advised us all to prepare – and I quote – “prepare as you would for a long holiday weekend.” “Prepare as you would for a long holiday weekend” is hardly a message to encourage people to take Y2K seriously. It conjures up images of stockpiling chips, dip and champagne rather than food, water and batteries. Until two weeks ago the government’s message was “prepare as you would for a three day winter storm.” Which was itself already a weak message. There are two problems with the government’s preparation messages. First, Y2K will be less like a winter storm and more like an El Nino. Y2K will not be a one or a three day event but will stretch through all of 2000 and into 2001. In the most likely scenarios, Y2K will come in waves at unpredictable times with unpredictable consequences. Second, the current official messages are encouraging a dangerous level of complacency. By trying to reassure the public and avoid panic, the current messages discourage active preparation and aggressive contingency planning. Despite all of the reassuring messages, the nation is not yet fully prepared for Y2K and additional urgent steps need to be taken. For the next several minutes I will outline the key remaining domestic Y2K issues and recommend actions that should be taken. I will leave it to my colleagues on the panel to discuss the international situation. . . . |
| 1999-12-21 | År 2000-problemet - inte Dag 2000... |
Kolumnisten Susan Connily funderar kring bieffekter och 2000-problemet. Många verkar fortfarande tro att bara 1 januari 2000 passerar obemärkt är allt bra. Så är inte fallet.
In regards to Y2K, the side effects may turn up not only in places we didn't expect to find them rather, more importantly, at times that we didn't expect them to happen. It would be wise to remember that Y2K is not day 2000 but rather year 2000. E-mail received during the last few weeks has confirmed the suspicion that I have had for some time. That the center of attention of Y2K failures has indeed been focused primarily on the rollover date of January 1, 2000 and a few weeks beyond. Indeed, this was confirmed yesterday when I received this message from a project manager. J.K. is in charge of the business contingency planning operation for a large U.S. Corporation and writes: "Our corporate position has been along the lines of the focus being on legal and market share fallout as the driving force behind the remediation/contingency planning efforts. This is driven by CNN exposure and a lawsuit happy environment - without it, the efforts would not be so extensive, because of it the focus is short term. I believe that real contingency plans need to encompass at least all of the year 2000, since ripple effects will cause unexpected problems for quite awhile, but the ones I've analyzed so far only cover the first 2-3 weeks in January. I'm in the process now of trying to raise awareness of the longer term ramifications and getting someone high enough in management to mandate more extensive coverage. I'll let you know how that battle goes." . . . . Further, this sobering comment from John in Chicago, "If all hell doesn't break loose during the first week in January, all the programmers will be let go. Then when the dominoes begin to fall later in the year the businesses will be scrambling to find these guys." . . . . |
| 1999-12-21 | Överraskningar väntar PC-användare |
Den här datorexperten menar att oväntade saker kan inträffa med din PC efter årsskiftet.
I have done more than three dozen Y2K assessments for clients ranging from small businesses to large government agencies. While conducting these assessments, I have discovered things about Y2K compliance that would surprise most people. Here are some facts you should know -- but probably don't. Windows NT, Windows 98 (First Edition) and Windows 95 all come out of the box as Y2K non-compliant! Sure, there are fixes available, but someone has to download patches from Microsoft to make these systems work properly beyond Dec. 31. I have done this for a number of customers, and it's surprising how much "fixing" is needed. Windows 98, for example, requires a 4MB patch. ...One in five PCs that I test prove to be Y2K non-compliant -- even some that were purchased as recently as 18 months ago. If you have a 486 or earlier CPU, it most likely will fail because the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) on machines that old fails to recognize the four-digit year. You could have an accounting package that "ages" receivables, then suddenly shows nothing as being 30 days past due because 2000 is read as 1900 on the computer's real-time clock. Some people have already set their Windows date to 2000 just to see what happens. This does not prove anything. When you set the Windows date to 2000, that is translated through BIOS back to the real-time clock inside the computer. The real-time clock may still only recognize dates starting with 19xx, and read the 2000 date it was told by the operating system as 1900. An application like our accounting package may be programmed to get the date directly from the real-time clock. But this varies by application and makes testing for Y2K readiness full of surprises. Of course, some people think they are not subject to the Y2K problem. I saw a handmade sign in an espresso bar that said, "This tip jar is Y2K compliant!" I used to be surprised that most of my customers said the same thing about their PC hardware and their Windows operating systems. In my experience, this is rarely the case. In fact, to date, I have had only one account that passed all of our hardware and software tests. |
| 1999-12-21 | Mer hjälp för PC:n | Inledningen på den länkade sidan är riktigt fånig, men länkarna från den kan vara nyttiga. |
| 1999-12-20 | Oljeexporterande Gulfstater oroade |
Man blir ju verkligen positiv när man läser denna nyhet... Edward Yardeni förutspår en global recession i omfattning som den vi hade 1974. När man läser denna nyhet förstår man varför. Mon, 20 Dec 1999, 7:14am EST Arab Gulf Oil Producers May Not Be Prepared for Millennium Bug, UN Says By Sean Evers Arab Gulf Oil Producers May Not Be Prepared for Millennium Bug Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Gulf Arab states responsible for half the world's oil reserves may not be adequately prepared for the year 2000 computer problem, the United Nations and U.S. government officials said. Computer failure and resulting disruption to production and transportation facilities in the six Arab Gulf states -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain -- could boost oil prices, which have already more than doubled this year. Governments and companies in the Middle East won't be ready for the date changeover on Jan. 1, 2000, due to a lack of funding to deal with the ``millennium bug'' computer glitch, the United Nations has said in a report. The bug is a theoretical problem that may cause some computers to malfunction if they misread the two-digit date ``OO'' as 1900 instead of 2000. ``It would have been nice if they had started a year or two earlier, but we're optimistic there won't be any interruption in oil flow,'' said John Koskinen, chairman of the U.S. President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion. ``However, our oil inventories are sufficient to handle any eventuality for a few weeks.'' The U.S. government set up a reserve in 1975 to provide an emergency supply of oil in the event of a crisis, such as the Arab oil embargo of 1973. It currently holds about 573 million barrels of oil -- equal to two months of imports -- according to the Energy Department. The U.S. has tapped the reserve only once, in 1991, during the Persian Gulf War. Oil companies doing business in the Gulf and local officials in the region said they are concerned about the lack of progress being made by government-run utilities, such as power and water. Saudi Arabia Confident However, Saudi Arabia, responsible for about 10 percent of the world's daily oil supply, said it is confident its computer systems will be ready to recognize the year 2000. ``Our worst case scenario would be to lose power for an extended period of time,'' said Saleh al-Zaid, head of the Y2K preparation team at Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company that exports more than 6 million barrels of oil per day. ``If that happened we would have enough oil stored at export terminals in the kingdom, Rotterdam and the U.S. to meet all our customers' requirements for about eight to nine days,'' he said. Most of Saudi Arabia's critical oil installations have their own power plants. These include the Abqaiq facility, which can process 6 million barrels a day, as well as export terminals on the Gulf, gateway for 90 percent of its oil exports. Mexico Ready, Too Venezuela and Mexico, two other large exporters to the U.S., also said supplies won't be disrupted by computer breakdowns, and guaranteed all deliveries in the first days of 2000. They agreed to make up shortfalls in world output elsewhere if hobbled by the millennium bug. Other Gulf producers, however, may not be in good shape. Kuwait, which holds 9.3 percent of known global reserves, said the various components of its oil industry -- production, refining, shipping -- have different timetables for dealing with the computer bug. ``The production side is the most advanced and is finished testing,'' said Mifhari al-Obaid, an assistant managing director at the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp. ``In an emergency we would be able to run manually if the data systems stop.'' At least one-third of all nations won't have fully tested and fixed their computers by Jan. 1, despite the expenditure of between $300 billion and $600 billion by the world's companies and governments, according to analysts. ``As far as some of the oil companies in the area, a lot of them have just looked at what we call the front-end IT systems, and have not looked at the embedded systems,'' said Ron Nelson, a Dubai-based Y2K computer consultant. Hidden Threat Embedded systems consist of computer chips used outside of computers -- in power-distribution equipment, pipeline pump controls and other devices. ``Everyone considered Y2K as a PC-based problem, when in reality it was much larger,'' he said. U.S. companies are joining in the fight against time in the Persian Gulf. Exxon Mobil Corp. said it is working with its joint venture operations in Saudi Arabia to prepare for the bug. ``We have organized training workshops and set up different in-house committees to tackle this issue,'' said Curtis Brand, chief executive officer of Mobil Saudi Arabia Inc. ``We are ... comfortable with the progress.'' Saudi Aramco and Exxon Mobil are partners in the SAMREF refinery on the kingdom's west coast, which refines about 350,000 barrels a day of crude oil into gasoline, jet fuel and gasoil, a group of fuels that includes heating oil. |
| 1999-12-20 | Inga goda nyheter från Venezuela - en av världens största oljeexportörer |
Det här är från ett diskussionsforum.
Venezuela is the USA's number one supplier of crude oil. As part of a continuing effort to help us grasp the significance of possible Y2K problems/disruptions on oil, it would be helpful to gain better understanding of some of the various nations that export oil. Our first focus is on Venezuela. The following comes from special analysis provided by the DoE. http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/security/hot.html#VENEZ Major Crude Oil Customers: United States, Germany, Canada, and Italy Oil Exports to the United States (1H99): 1.7 million bbl/d, of which 1.4 million bbl/d was crude Major Foreign Oil Company Involvement: Arco, British Petroleum-Amoco, Chevron, CNPC (China), Conoco, Exxon, Mobil, Occidental, Pennzoil, Phillips, Repsol, Shell, Statoil, Texaco, Total, Union Texas, and Veba Oel Main Concerns:Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere and is a major oil exporter, especially to the United States, has been experiencing serious political and economic uncertainty over the past year. In December 1998, Hugo Chávez won election as president with 56% of the vote, running on a populist agenda against the established political order, as head of a leftist coalition. On September 7, 1999, Standard and Poor's placed its ratings on Petrozuata Finance Inc.'s bonds on "CreditWatch" with negative implications. The Petrozuata project is a $3.6 billion partnership of Venezuela's state oil company, PdVSA, and Conoco, and aims to extract 1.5-2 billion barrels over its 35-year contract. In July 1999, Petroleum Intelligence Weekly (PIW) reported that three existing projects (Petrozuata, Cerro Negro, and Sincor) in Venezuela's huge, heavy-oil, Orinoco belt are facing construction delays, cost overruns, and limited access to finance. PIW also reported that many companies which had been interested in Venezuela several years ago have now backed off. In early September 1999, PdVSA was hit by numerous resignations of top officials amid concerns over President Chavez's intentions for the company. Also, credit-rating agency Fitch IBCA has announced that it is reviewing PdVSA for a possible downgrade. Fitch IBCA said that it was concerned about Venezuela's "increasingly complex political situation and the low priority assigned to economic reform." Finally, Reuters reported in early September 1999 that foreign oil companies are stepping up their lobbying of the Venezuelan government out of concerns that billions of dollars in their investments may be threatened by President Chávez's policies. Venezuela in 1998 produced an estimated 3.3 million barrels per day, up about 64,000 bbl/d from 1997 levels. Venezuela exported about 2.8 million bbl/d, of which about 1.7 million bbl/d went to the United States. In June 1999, Venezuela was producing 2.72 million barrels per day of crude oil, which is exactly the amount allotted by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). As part of a coordinated effort by major oil exporters to prop up world oil prices since early 1998, Venezuela has agreed to production cuts totaling 650,000 bbl/d over the past year, including 125,000 bbl/d pledged in the Hague OPEC meeting in late March 1999. Venezuela's target OPEC quota is now about 2.72 million bbl/d (compared to around 3.4 million bbl/d in January 1998), a 19.3% cut. Venezuela's actual production peaked at 3.7 million bbl/d in early 1998, its highest in 26 years. By May 1999, Venezuela was producing less than 2.8 million bbl/d of crude oil, just slightly above its quota. These moves by Venezuela appear to mark a break from years of a strategy aimed at increasing oil production and world markets share, to one of increasing oil prices. To date, Venezuela’s oil sector has been hurt by the production cuts, although prices might have been even lower without them. Among other things, the cuts and shut-ins have lessened Venezuela’s oil production capacity, and this capacity could be difficult to reestablish anytime soon. Prior to budget cutbacks and production restraints, Venezuela had raised its oil production capacity by more than 200,000 bbl/d annually for 3 years. For a broader overview of Venezuela's situation politically and also for oil, gas and electricity see this DOE link. It paints a nation in "deep trouble" The next segment is found at the following URL: http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/venfull.html PdVSA operates the Western Hemisphere’s largest refining system, and is the world's fourth largest oil refiner, with a combined domestic and international capacity of about 3 million bbl/d. Domestic refinery capacity stands at about 1.187 million bbl/d, while its foreign holdings in Curaçao, the United States (in Lake Charles, Lemont, Corpus Christi, Paulsboro, Savannah, and Lyondell-in Houston), and Europe (with Nynas and Ruhr Oel), add about 1.8 million bbl/d of capacity. Presently, Venezuela sells mostly crude oil but is seeking to increase the production of refined products, and would like to raise the refined proportion to 60% from the current 40% rate. About one-third of Venezuela's refined product exports are exported to the United States, where they are distributed mainly by Tulsa-based Citgo, PdVSA's U.S. refining and marketing subsidiary, and the largest U.S. gasoline retailer. Venezuela has one of the highest electrification rates in Latin America, at 91%, and Venezuelans are the highest per capita users of electricity in Latin America. The electric power sector in Venezuela is characterized by under-investment, heavy state control, controlled tariff rates, and frequent shortages. The rapid electricity demand growth, combined with serious under-investment in the power sector, has resulted in shortages and a need for private investment, at an estimated cost of $6 billion over the next 5 years. In addition, an estimated $200 million in upgrades to the transmission and distribution systems is urgently needed to reduce the growing number of power failures. In April 1999, the Energy Ministry began the reform of Venezuela's power sector, armed with Congress' April 1999 grant to President Chávez to regulate the power sector by decree and re-order the industry. NEXT: SECTION --- Let's repeat what Andy posted here a couple of days ago from the following thread: http://greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=001ym2 ------------ This is from an oil engineer just back from Venezuela: " Here are some points to consider: Bear in mind I have been working as a Senior Petroleum Engineering Consultant in South America for the past 3 year (mostly in Venezuela and Colombia.....currently with one of the largest multi-nationals in the world), and previous to that I worked in the Persian Gulf. 1. First of all, I am very much inclined to agree with Harry Schultz's article from yesterday regarding his prediction that crude oil could doubled in price very soon (he is predicting possibly $50/bbl by Dec. 31st and $75 to $100 early in 2000). I think the following scenario will un-fold:. a. Y2K creates oil shock. b. stock market collapses due to oil shock....similiar to 1973/74 scenario. c. precious metal prices go ballastic in reaction to collapsing stock markets. 2. Venezuela is by far the single largest supplier of crude oil imports to the U.S. Having worked there recently I observed the following; a. majority of the wells require artificial lift. There are literally 10s of thousands of wells producing via gas lift and electric submersible pumps. Power outages are frequent at the best of times in Venezuela. b. the words "equipment maintainence" are virtually non-existent in Venezuela. c. Venezuela was 100% non Y2K compliant in March of this year, now they claim to be 100% Y2K compliant. I don't believe them for one moment! To my knowledge, they have done nothing in regards to Y2K testing. d. Venezuela is severely cash-strapped. The government can barely pay it's workers.....so how can they check for Y2K compliance. e. Because of artificial lift requirements (i.e. electrical power requirements) and lower well production rates I think the logistical infastructure is much more complicated, thus more vunerable, to Y2K than in many other producing nations around the globe. 3. The basket price for Venezuelan Crude (heavy oil) is considerally cheaper than West Texas Intermediate, Brent or Saudi light crudes. The U.S. has a cheap sources of crude, which they up-grade in U.S. domestic refineries for commercial purposes. I believe the real motive of Richardson to "drive down" energy prices is to conceal that inflation is here, and Y2K problems and a cold winter will exasperate the problem. He has more to say on other aspects of the oil problems but not directly related to Venezuela so we'll save that for another post. --------------- The point here is for you to compare what this "Senior Petroleum Engineer Consultant" had to say with what the DOE analysis is for Venezuela. Do you see how the two sources compare? Also, remember the recent announcement by Venezuela that they were going to shut down their port facilities during the CDC… Yet of course, Venezuela stood tall with Saudi Arabia the other day announcing that they stand ready to pump more oil if needed. More PR spin. Please note the following from the IEA website… while old it is re-posted to testify to a previously known fact…Venezuela had not even started to do Y2K work as late as February of 1999 when the new gov't admitted nothing had been done. This from the IEA oil industry website: Venezuela's Oil and Electricity Industries Venezuela Faces $1.5 Billion Y2K Computer Problem This report finds that PDVSA, the world's third largest oil exporter and largest oil exporter to the US, is aware of Y2K and has made progress. The electricity sector in Venezuela is however very vulnerable. The previous Government which left office in February 1999 had made no Y2K preparations. A senior government official is quoted as saying that Venezuela is very behind in its preparations and that the situtation is "very, very serious". http://www.iea.org/ieay2k/homepage.htm ----------- The actual Reuters news story quoted the new leaders as saying that not even the national oil company had begun any Y2K remediation. That link is now dead and gone. ----------------=========================== Bottom line. Venezuela is not in good shape, despite what their spinmeisters are saying. If you don't want to believe the Senior Petroleum Engineering Consultant then at least read between the lines of this DoE report. That alone should tell you the situation down there is not very promising, despite the official happy talk. Now, let's remember the Venezuela factor as we look at other oil exporters in other threads. Does anyone reading this think Venezuela is A-OK for Y2K??? -- R.C. (racambab@mailcity.com), December 12, 1999 |
| 1999-12-20 | Östeuropa oroat över sin kraftförsörjning |
Även om våra kraftnät inte är sammankopplade så är våra ekonomier det. Östeuropeer är oroade att deras kraftförsörjning skall stängas ner. Om detta sker kommer Västeuropa att drabbas av recession. Världshandeln är alltför utvecklad för att detta skall undvikas.
In many former Soviet bloc nations, old government secrecy habits die hard. With less transparency on Y2K readiness, crossing fingers and hoping for the best is often the rule of thumb. Det här är från Nando Times. The official line in much of Eastern Europe goes like this: Computers aren't used in this region as much as in the highly automated West, so the Y2K problem is less of a concern. . . . But older computer systems that are most vulnerable to the millennium bug do exist, and often they control sectors like energy - which in Romania harbors the greatest potential for failure. Y2K analysts and Western governments are worried about the power grids of Romania and other Eastern European nations from the Baltic states to the Balkans. Because the region's power grids are interconnected, failures in one country could trigger a temporary collapse of a neighbor's network. Aging Soviet-era nuclear power plants provide much energy to these countries. And while experts are reasonably certain Y2K-triggered failures at such plants would not lead to meltdowns or radiation releases, there is concern about widespread blackouts. Adding to the uncertainty is the state of things Russia. Many of these countries get the bulk of their oil and gas from that vast eastern neighbor, whose ability to deliver fuel is in question because of poor Y2K readiness. . . . Officially, Romania's national electricity company Conel says it held readiness tests, but company sources who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press no such tests have occurred. In many former Soviet bloc nations, old government secrecy habits die hard. With less transparency on Y2K readiness, crossing fingers and hoping for the best is often the rule of thumb. "We don't actually know the extent of the possible damage because anything can happen - from nothing to a major disaster," said Dan Georgescu, an information technology official at Bucharest's water company. While declining to specify areas of concern, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest has advised Americans there to be prepared to "tough it out" a few days if the power goes out and recommended they have a full tank of gas and extra batteries, candles and cash. Worried about disruptions in electricity and natural gas deliveries, Bulgaria's government declared Jan. 3 a holiday and the smaller of the nation's two oil refineries said it would suspend operations during the New Year's rollover. In Estonia, the power company recently conducted tests that separated parts of its electrical grid from a regional network that includes Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus. "We're just operating on the assumption Russia will have trouble," said the company's Y2K project manager, Toomas Tutt. Fearing blackouts, Hungary's hospitals will perform only emergency surgery over New Year's and send ambulatory patients home, the country's hospital association director was quoted as saying. In Poland, the state railway director, Tadeusz Sawa, rated just 14 of the 33 local power companies well-prepared for Y2K. All trains in Poland will halt, possibly for as long as 45 minutes, shortly before midnight Dec. 31. . . . Officials in Moldova expect power outages and anticipate failures in the railway network and police department. In Slovakia, work remains unfinished on purging life-sustaining medical devices of the Y2K bug. Officials say some patients may have to be transferred from less-prepared hospitals. To be on the safe side, Hungary is closing its banks from Dec. 30 to Jan. 3; Romania from New Year's Eve through Jan. 3. Poland's banks will be closed Dec. 31 so employees can print out all balances before midnight. . . . |
| 1999-12-20 | "14 Sovjet-reaktorer i fara" |
Det här är från New York Times.
Many Soviet-designed nuclear power plants are unprepared for the Year 2000 but no systems with immediate impact on safety are in danger of failing because of the Y2K computer glitch, a United Nations-backed international clearinghouse for Y2K data said on Thursday. Of the 68 reactor units in the nine countries of the former Soviet Union, ''many ... contain non-safety related systems that are not yet Y2K compliant,'' the International Y2K Cooperation Center said. Bruce McConnell, the center's director, cited the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency as saying 14 of the plants of greatest concern are in Ukraine and one is in Armenia. The report did not spell out exactly how many were lagging nor their locations but referred to ''the urgent need for (upgrade) work to continue and for adequate funds to be made available.'' ''Contingency plans are in place,'' said the report on the readiness of nuclear plants worldwide for the century rollover. At issue are possible automated system mix-ups when 1999 ticks into 2000 on Jan. 1. Many computers were engineered to handle only two digits for the year in date fields and could err or crash when ''00'' arrives. . . . In advanced nuclear power plants, digital systems control operations and monitor temperature and possible leaks. Soviet-designed models involve ``very few'' date-sensitive components, the International Y2K Cooperation Center said. The center, which is based in Washington and funded by the World Bank, said Y2K-related errors could ''reduce the ability of operators to analyze and respond'' to equipment problems and ''degrade overall plant performance in the weeks following the date change.'' ''Over time, such a degradation in performance would reduce the margins of safety and efficiency in these plants,'' it said. . . . ''Because of the extensive Y2K work that has been done and the increased staffing and monitoring of nuclear power plant operations over the date change period, we do not believe there is a net safety benefit to a general shut down ... during the period,'' the report said. . . Jag känner mig sååå lugn... |
| 1999-12-20 | London Times: "Ignalina ligger efter i 2000-arbetet" |
Ignalina i Litauen ligger ca 40 mil från Sverige...
Chernobyl and two other ageing Soviet bloc nuclear reactors may help to fulfil prophecies of millennial disaster if work is not done swiftly to adapt their computers. The head of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency, Muhammad al-Baradei, has identified three nuclear plants that are lagging seriously behind in preparing for the Year 2000 software problem: the Medzamer reactor in Armenia and the Ignalina reactor in Lithuania as well as the still-functioning reactor in Chernobyl. . . . Computers are central to nuclear plant safety: they gather, compare and contrast data received from the different stages of electricity production and monitor temperatures and possible leakages. Dr al-Baradei said the "millennium bug" problem in the atomic energy sector of the former Soviet Union was due to lack of money - maintenance is chronically underfinanced - and lack of adequate planning. . . . The Chernobyl reactors are of the RBMK type - graphite-moderated channel reactors. There are more than a dozen such reactors still in operation in the former Soviet Union and the chief concern is about the lack of a sufficiently large steel or concrete containment structure to block large releases of radiation. At Chernobyl, the plant's accident localisation system could not cope with the force of the explosion. Despite these and other misgivings, one Chernobyl reactor has just reopened. It was closed for six days after leaks were discovered in the secondary cooling system for radioactive water. Two other reactors have been out of operation because of serious technical defects. The fourth, which blew up in 1986, is buried under a concrete sarcophagus. A Chernobyl-style reactor is in operation in Lithuania. The European Commission has demanded a closure plan for the Ignalina reactor, threatening delays in Lithuania's entry to the European Union unless it complies. The first block has been active since 1983, the second since 1987. Together they account for 85 per cent of the republic's electricity. For the Lithuanians, the plant guarantees their energy, and therefore political independence from Russia. Electricity exported to Latvia and Belarus is also profitable. There is no hurry to close the plant. Despite the safety improvements, introduced largely with the help of the Swedes, the West is growing increasingly nervous about the reliability of the plant. . . . |
| 1999-12-20 | Y2k-expert varnar för kraftförsörjningen i Colorado |
Det här är rätt intressant... Med mindre än två veckor kvar till årsskiftet har ett ordkrig brutit ut i Colorado. Det här är ovanligt. Representanter för y2k-paneler på olika nivåer i samhället brukar alla ha en enad front mot allmänheten. We (the governor's task force) tried to do the right thing for the families and businesses of Colorado. But what started out as an 'all-for-one' type of approach has ended as an every man and industry for himself situation. Systemen är inte helt testade, säger han. Så synd, säger kraftbolaget. De hade inte råd, helt enkelt. Därför var det inte nödvändigt. "What Will is saying is that it would have been nice if we could have done those things," Ray said. "It would be nice if we could run every piece of equipment in the power plants in (future time), but cost-wise it is prohibitive. And from a necessity standpoint, it is not necessary." Den här ursäkten är universell. Inga problem, eftersom det skulle ha kostat för mycket att parallelltesta. Den officiella delstatsrapporten är baserad på självrapporterade data från de berörda industrierna. Som alla sådana rapporter är... The former director of Y2K compliance at Public Service Company of Colorado says the state's largest utility might not have gone far enough in preparing for 2000. Will James, a member of the Governor's Task Force on Year 2000 Readiness, said he is concerned the utility's aging power plants have not been as carefully prepped for the transition to 2000 as they should have been because the utility didn't want to spend extra money to do the work James thought was necessary. James also blames the state for failing to fund an independent Y2K audit and verification program for Colorado's utilities. "Without a state-sponsored independent audit and detailed examination of the readiness of these organizations," James wrote in a report to the task force last month, "a guarantee of Y2K readiness in the energy sector cannot be made to the citizens of Colorado at this time." But Public Service, the governor's task force and the Colorado Utilities Commission have said the utility is well-prepared for Y2K. Public Service said it has spent nearly three years and $25 million on its Y2K compliance program. Recently it hired an independent audit firm to review its Y2K plans and that firm gave the utility high marks. "I may be all wet on this," said James, who worked for Public Service from 1995 to 1999. He left the utility voluntarily, in part because he thought it wasn't going far enough to address Y2K issues. The utility agrees that James left voluntarily, but disagrees with his assessment of Public Service's Y2K readiness plans. "Everything may be just fine Dec. 31," James said. "But if things do go wrong, I think people should know what happened. We (the governor's task force) tried to do the right thing for the families and businesses of Colorado. But what started out as an 'all-for-one' type of approach has ended as an every man and industry for himself situation." James' concerns about Public Service's status center on the company's power plants, which serve 70 percent of Coloradans. Public Service already as set clocks ahead at its largest power plants so they are running as if it were 2000 now. They believe this program will make the Dec. 31 transition a non-event. But James, who now runs his own Y2K consulting firm, is concerned because not all systems in the plants are capable of running in "future time." Although testing has been done on individual parts of power plants and those parts are now Y2K compliant, James said more system-wide testing is needed. If problems occur, they could be compounded because Public Service has downsized and doesn't have enough skilled workers to cope with a crisis, James said. Bob Ray, who now directs Public Service's Y2K program, said the concerns are unwarranted and that the utility has done everything possible to prepare for Y2K. "What Will is saying is that it would have been nice if we could have done those things," Ray said. "It would be nice if we could run every piece of equipment in the power plants in (future time), but cost-wise it is prohibitive. And from a necessity standpoint, it is not necessary." Ray said the utility has worked hard to identify all the critical systems and to test them for Y2K readiness. Doing the kind of inventory and testing program James advocated easily could have cost several million dollars more. "No, we probably haven't found every embedded chip," Ray said. "But that's why we will have 300 extra people in the field that night. If we find something that we missed, we will be able to run it manually. ... We've never set a 100 percent guarantee that everything will be fine. But we're 99.9 percent of the way there." But Public Service isn't the only concern, James said. He worries that budget cuts might have kept the state's Y2K task force from doing its best to prepare for 2000. The state's Y2K task force was founded by Gov. Roy Romer in July 1998. James served as co-chairman of that group and remained on the task force after Gov. Bill Owens' administration took over its leadership in January. The task force asked for $1.5 million last year to pay for an independent Y2K audit program. But ultimately, neither Owens nor the General Assembly came up with the money. Without that money, the state has had to rely on unverified self-reporting by critical companies such as Public Service and US West. Two weeks ago, the state task force announced that all key industry sectors and state agencies were Y2K ready. But in a Y2K task force report dated Nov. 11, James wrote "this report is not an independent verification and validation of actual readiness. ... This readiness evaluation is based on the assurances provided by the industry trade organizations, regulators, and the corporations themselves." Despite James' concerns, other task force members said they're confident the lights will stay on and the phones will work on Jan. 1. Rick Grice, co-chairman of the state task force, said the state lacked legal authority to audit private industry. He also said it wasn't necessary because private industry cooperated with his group's requests for information. "Everybody always wants to do a better job and wants more money to do it. ... But everyone, particularly the big players like US West and Public Service, was completely forthcoming. ... Early on, some of the people didn't want to play ball, but the governor and the task force got on the phone and convinced them that it was in their best interest to work with us (the task force)." But James remains concerned. One problem, he says, is few federal or state agencies, outside of the banking industry, are doing independent verifications. James said power and phone companies should have been audited by independent teams, just as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency audited banks. "Nearly everyone else has relied on self-reporting," James said. The Department of Energy did some independent audits randomly, looking at roughly 60 percent of utilities nationwide. When Public Service realized it wasn't included in the DOE's audits, it hired an independent audit firm. Y2K experts say everyone should have some kind of independent audit of their Y2K program, as Public Service did. But they add there are few experts when it comes to determining where to start and where to end Y2K testing because systems are so deeply intertwined. . . . |
| 1999-12-20 | Y2k-förnekelse på italienskt vis |
Amerikanarna är i förnekelse därför att de vet att allting alltid fungerar i USA. Italienarna är i förnekelse därför att de vet att ingenting nånsin fungerar i Italien. Vad händer om ett helt land kollapsar i den internationella ekonomin? Även om det är Italien? Det här är från Washington Post genom MSNBC. With a million revelers and religious pilgrims expected to cram the streets of this historic city to welcome the third millennium, Italian authorities may need a little divine providence on New Year’s Eve to avert a return to conditions that some only half-jokingly say may approximate those of the first millennium. Of all the industrialized countries in Europe, Italy is by most accounts the least prepared to confront the risks brought on by the Year 2000 computer glitch. A recent survey by technology consultants in Britain ranked Italy’s preparedness on a par with Honduras and Peru, and warned that technical maladies brought on by the computer bug will stretch well beyond Jan. 1. THE PROSPECT OF scattered electrical outages, telephone problems and other disruptions has even normally complacent Italian officials concerned. Outside experts worry that even small, intermittent problems with electricity and other services could snowball, and that millennial celebrants here may suddenly find themselves in an environment where Rome’s splendid architecture seems its most modern feature. . . . A recent survey by technology consultants in Britain ranked Italy’s preparedness on a par with Honduras and Peru, and warned that technical maladies brought on by the computer bug will stretch well beyond Jan. 1. On that day alone, the city will be under enormous stress from huge crowds at the pope’s blessing in St. Peter’s Square, and along the streets where 60,000 people are slated to run in a marathon. Italian officials insist the prospect of a catastrophic loss of essential services is low. They note that millions of dollars have been spent to reduce the risks, albeit mostly in the past few months, well behind the schedule of other large, industrial nations. . . . For many Italians, an interruption in some key services will not seem extraordinary. Italians already live in one of Western Europe’s most glitch-prone countries: Postal delivery is notoriously haphazard, repair work rarely seems to be finished on the first try and telephones are frequently overloaded, to mention just a few problems Rome’s 3 million citizens encounter routinely. But the Italians’ legendary ingenuity and experience in circumventing the obstacles created by government bureaucracy or error will doubtless give them an advantage over others in Europe. . . . “A situation like this has never happened before, because everything may have a malfunction” of brief duration, said Augusto Leggio, technical director of the country’s Y2K commission. “Everything which is supported by an information system” could conceivably have a problem, he said, adding that he is particularly pessimistic about private companies’ preparedness. “Italian people generally, by culture, don’t plan.” . . . . The Italian government established its Y2K commission in January, well behind most other industrialized countries. The commission’s first order of business was to draft a law mandating detailed reports on Y2K remediation, with stiff penalties for noncompliance. The law was not approved until mid-summer. By October, less than one-fifth of the relevant firms or municipalities had presented detailed plans, and even fewer had been reviewed. “It’s late, but unfortunately we cannot have the time back,” Leggio said. With many computer corrections out of reach at this late date, the government has focused much of its energy on limiting the consequences of potential breakdowns. For example, an undeclared number of troops will be placed on standby to tamp down any “agitation on the part of the people” over malfunctioning phones, electrical outages, airport delays, hospital errors or inaccessible public records, Leggio said. . . . Fortunately, Rome’s sewage system relies mostly on gravity, not computer-driven parts, mayoral aides said. But precautions are being taken everywhere else: Electrical generators are being installed at some hospitals, where extra emergency room doctors will be on call. Key government buildings are also getting generators, and a special electrical transmission cable was installed at the Vatican. Police officials are being trained to use satellite telephones, because their normal frequencies are likely to be swamped. One thousand new patrolmen will be deputized on Dec. 30. . . |
| 1999-12-20 | IAEA: Världens kärnkraftverk är säkra. Utom i Ukraina och Armenien... |
Okidoki.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Thursday Ukraine and Armenia were falling behind in ensuring their nuclear plants were fully millennium-compliant, but major safety systems were in order. "There is...concern that some nuclear power plant operators are falling behind in their efforts to complete the necessary Y2K tasks owing to late actions and a shortage of funds," the director-general of the world's nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, said in a speech to its board of governors. "We believe that Y2K remediation and recovery actions on systems and equipment with a direct and immediate bearing on the safety of nuclear power plants have been carried out, thus mitigating the likelihood of complications at year's end," he added. But work had still to be done on other systems of no immediate impact on safety at the end of the year, but which could be important in the long term. "It is therefore essential that Y2K actions be continued in 2000," ElBaradei said. IAEA spokesman David Kyd said ElBaradei was referring mainly to Ukraine, site of the world's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl in 1986, and Armenia, which also has Soviet-era reactors. "The most significant are Ukraine and Armenia," Kyd told Reuters. "They are struggling because of financial constraints. They have fixed the main safety-relevant systems but there are subsidiary systems such as radiation monitors that will not be fixed in time." . . . . It was not vital for the countries concerned to complete all the necessary work by Jan. 1 but it was important it should be done as early as possible in the new year. . . . |
| 1999-12-20 | Asien ignorerar y2k |
Var man än vänder sig förstår inte folk vad y2k innebär för informationsekonomin. Asien är en del av denna ekonomi. Ändå är de inte oroade. Det är ju bara ett par siffror...
With less than two weeks to go before the new millennium's day of reckoning, most of Asia is facing the Y2K computer bug with calm, possibly careless, abandon. The main exception is high-tech Japan, with major supermarkets reporting a last-minute rush on bunker items like tinned food, batteries and water. "Sales of water in early December more than doubled from last year and sales of oil stoves tripled and those of battery and gas cooking stoves doubled," said a spokesman for Daiei Inc. supermarket chain in Japan. China is also worried, so much it has moved the official New Year's holiday back to the last day of 1999. . . . But elsewhere in Asia -- including some countries where only the privileged few have computers -- people say they have more important things to worry about. In South Korea, the government has already stockpiled essential fuels and food in case of war with rival North Korea. "The general atmosphere remains calm," said Seo Kwang-Hyon of a Y2K task force. "We have received no reports on citizens' stockpiling of those necessities." Another tech-savvy state, Singapore, has assured its citizens all basic services and bank functions will proceed normally. In India, state-run defence companies have stockpiled fuel and raw materials but the locals seem satisfied with the authorities' assurances the country is Y2K compliant. Neighbouring Pakistan has given no warnings to its 130 million people about possible food or money shortages and there are few signs anyone is worried enough to start hoarding. The New Year falls during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when most Pakistanis fast from sunrise to sunset. Thailand has set up a centre to ease Y2K worries and has distributed five million booklets on how to prepare, but it is unclear whether anyone has bothered to read them. . . . In Cambodia, the only stockpiling reported has been in northern Siem Reap, where locals are hoping to cash in on the thousands of thirsty tourists expected for a sound and light show at historic Angkor Wat. Philippine Science and Technology Secretary Filemon Uriarte summed up the prevailing attitude when he said: "It is not necessarily the Y2K problem that will cause problems. Rather it is the panic caused by the Y2K problem." In steamy Manila there have been no government orders to store essentials and most locals are reluctant to do so. . . . Australians have been watching with amusement the news of stockpiling in Japan, confident no technological disasters will interrupt their long summer holidays. But those not on the beach over the New Year will be able to click on to www.y2kaustralia.gov.au for status reports, colour-coded green for all-clear, yellow for minor glitches and red for serious bug attack. Malaysia has spent an estimated 1.85 billion ringgit (487 million dollars) on millennium bug problems and expects the investment to pay dividends. In Taiwan, where a major earthquake brought devastation in September, most people see little threat although supermarkets seem busier than usual. In Hong Kong, the government has been quick to assure people it is Y2k compliant, although at least one foreign embassy here is warning its nationals to prepare for the worst by filling bathtubs with water. Vietnamese authorities' most immediate concern is dealing with two recent floods. To cope with Y2K, Hanoi is relying on the resilience of the Vietnamese people who are well accustomed to living with scarcities. In Bangladesh, officials are so confident the country's two major stock exchanges will be the only trading houses in the world to operate during the vulnerable period. Experts say pandemonium could break out at the tick of midnight on December 31 if computers which only read the last two digits of the year fail when their clocks strike 2000. |
| 1999-12-20 | Småföretagarna bryr sig fortfarande inte |
När NFIB (USA:s motsvarighet till Småföretagarnas Riksorganisation i Sverige) först började fråga sina medlemmar om deras y2k-planer fick de veta att de skulle åtgärda sina system "senare". Nu är det "senare". Få har agerat.
Det här är från CNNfn. With the days winding down until the year 2000, each new survey or poll seems to add to the evidence that Americans are confident computer glitches will not have much impact on their lives. The National Federation of Independent Businesses, the leading trade association for small companies, reported recently that many members who had said last spring that they would take steps to prepare for computer problems this fall had now decided not to bother. And a survey for the National Association of Manufacturers found that 93 percent of members expected the year 2000 to have almost no impact on their companies and only 4 percent foresaw significant disruptions of any part of the economy. "What's news in this survey is what we're not seeing," said Jerry Jasinowski, the manufacturing group's president, in announcing the results last Friday. "There's no last-minute panic and little stockpiling of inventory." . . . . |
| 1999-12-20 |
Ingen oroar sig i Argentina... "Det är ett problem för norra halvklotet" Visst... |
Naivt.
Argentines far from angst-ridden over Y2K bug BUENOS AIRES, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Y2K fever may be in full pitch in the Northern Hemisphere but Argentine psychoanalysts say their patients have other things to worry about. ``I haven't noted very much concern over Y2K. I think people are treating it with a certain amount of frivolity more than as a major event or as something that's raising their anxiety,'' said Dr. Leonardo Wender, head of the Psychoanalysis Association of Buenos Aires, from his office in the city's Palermo district dubbed ``Freud Village'' for its concentration of therapists. |
| 1999-12-20 | Sista minuten-tips för PC:n |
Från IDG: En guide till Y2K Är du ute i sista stund och känner dig osäker på om din dator är förberedd för millenniumskiftet finns det en bra guide för dig på Internet.
Gör-det-själv-guiden förklarar enkelt vad Y2K kan betyda för dig som privatanvändare och vilka problem det kan ställa till med på din dator. Guiden förklarar även hur du kan rätta till de vanligaste felen. Guiden inkluderar hårdvara, operativsystem och programvara. PC Worlds Y2K-guide hittar du här: PC World.com. |
| 1999-12-20 | Försmak av 2000 |
Från IDG: När gatukontoret i München skickade kravbrev med sista betalningsdag efter millennieskiftet så gick det lite fel...
Kanske blir det lite pengar över till en ny dator till kommunalförvaltningen i München, som just skickat ut knappt 500 kravbrev med senaste betalningsdag 11-01-00. Resten behöver nästan inte förklaras. Den här notisen skulle ju aldrig ha skrivits om det inte handlat om y2k. Kravbeloppet omfattade dessvärre 100 års dröjesmålsränta. En parkeringsbot på 10 DM har med ränta på ränta därmed stigit till 650 DM. Myndigheterna ser allvarligt på det inträffade. |
| 1999-12-03 | 100 fel per 1 miljon rader korrigerad kod! |
Citibank har exempelvis haft 400 miljoner rader kod att gå igenom för att 2000-säkra sina stordatorer. Det betyder att 40000 fel återstår att åtgärda efter att ursprungskoden redan korrigerats.
De flesta storföretag har miljontals rader stordatorkod att gå igenom... General Motors har 2 miljarder rader kod i de stordatorer som styr deras verksamhet... Det här är från Business Wire: . . . Jim McGovern, president and COO of CCD Online Systems Inc. (CCD), a worldwide provider of de facto industry standard Y2K-compliant software solutions, is concerned about corporate Y2K preparedness, including mission-critical business failures, lawsuits and financial ramifications. . . . "It is very alarming that CCD has yet to visit a company where we did not find at least 100 critical noncompliant Y2K date statements for every 1 million lines of code. It is very clear that there will be significant problems on and after Jan. 1, 2000." "Despite diligent efforts on the part of Y2K project teams, and the staggering expenditure of time and money, an unacceptable number of errors still remain hidden in purportedly Y2K-compliant source code. To make matters worse, most Y2K teams are unaware of the presence of significant undetected errors." "In addition to business failures caused by Y2K program errors, corporate executives must also be prepared to handle Y2K lawsuits. Y2K has received more early warnings and widespread public awareness than any other disaster, and companies will need to prove they went the extra mile." "Recent analyst findings and CCD's in-house reports show that most organizations have a false sense of security about the possibility of business interruptions due to Y2K-related outages." |
| 1999-12-03 | Aftonbladet skriver en notis om millennieskiftet |
Som vanligt är budskapet: Ingenting att oroa sig för. Här är artikeln i sin helhet:
”Hamstra mat och vatten inför millennieskiftet” I Japan är 40 procent av befolkningen oroliga för en 2 000-kris Japans premiärminister Keizo Obuchi varnar för 2 000-kris. - Hamstra för säkerhets skull mat och vatten inför årsskiftet, sa han vid ett tv-inslag på fredagen. I Sverige är budskapet ett annat. Japanerna har fått dubbla budskap inför millenieskiftet och vad som kan förväntas ske på grund av att gamla datorer lagrar årtal med bara de två sista siffrorna, vilket betyder att år 2000 kan tolkas som 1900. Datorkaos eller inte? - Vi tror inte att det blir några större störningar, lugnade premiärministern i ett tv-sänt reklaminslag på fredagen. Fast tillade: - Men det är viktigt att vara redo för det värsta! 40 procent är osäkra Den japanska regeringen och myndigheterna har tidigare uppmanat befolkningen att hamstra livsmedel och ta ut kontanter för två, tre dagar. Och tidigare har den japanska elektronikjätten Matsushita förbjudit samtliga sina 280 000 anställda att flyga på nyårsafton och nyårsdagen av rädsla för att många av dem ska dö i flygolyckor. Samtidigt som Matsushita, som gör produkter under namn som National, Panasonic och Technics, lovar att de själva åtgärdat den så kallade 2000-buggen och testat sina produkter så att de garanterat är säkra. Alla motstridiga signaler har gjort japanerna osäkra och en färsk opinionsundersökning visar att cirka 40 procent av japanerna idag är oroade över vad som kan ske. Jan Freese är ordförande i regeringens 2000-delegation och vet att samma oro finns i många andra länder, bland annat i USA. - Där uppmanas också folk att skaffa vatten, bensin, pengar, mat och hela rasket, säger han till aftonbladet.se. - Men de har ju också en vana vid katastrofer och en annan inställning med ett nationalgarde och Röda kors som står på tå bakom hörnet och väntar när kåken flyter bort i Mississippi. För några veckor sedan fick Jan Freese en rapport från sina vänner på den japanska ambassaden. - Där konstaterar dom att de är färdiga. Samtidigt säger japanerna att de ska ha 600 000 man på krigsfot. Dubbla budskap alltså? - Ja, men det är likadant i många, många länder. Det här är fruktansvärt osäkert. Det är en sån komplex miljö; det finns så mycket beroende, det är många som jobbat in i det sista, mycket som inte hunnits testas eller som inte kan sättas i produktion förrän på nyåret. - Först då vet vi hur det ser ut. ”Var beredd på vissa störningar” Finns det anledning för oss svenskar att känna oro inför årsskiftet? - Nej, jag har gett mig katten på att vi i Sverige ska säkra infrastrukturen och det har vi kvitto på att vi gjort. - Det betyder att el, tele, vatten, avlopp och fjärrvärme kommer att fungera. El och tele garanterat överallt. Det kan du lova? - Ja. Och om infrastrukturen fungerar går det heller ingen nöd på människor. Det finns alltså ingen fara för liv och hälsa. Vad är det som kan klicka då? - Men snälla du. Det finns miljontals datorer i detta land, med inbyggda chips. Har du någonsin hört talas om ett it-projekt som gått i mål i tid? Ditt råd? - Ta det lugnt. Infrastrukturen kommer att fungera, men var beredd på vissa störningar. Jag tycker ändå att vi har läget under rimlig kontroll i Sverige, slutar Jan Freese. |
| 1999-12-03 | Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Invånarna i staden Albuquerque i delstaten New Mexico i USA kan förvänta sig strömavbrott 1 januari, 2000, om man får tro officiella kommentarer från stadens ledning. Vad händer med vattnet (hint: behöver ström!)? Vad händer med avlopp (hint: behöver ström!)?
Officials with the Public Service Company of New Mexico have said they expect a "high probability" that local electrical service will be cut off for a few hours on New Year's Day because of Y2K problems. They have not ruled out the chance of longer outages. |
| 1999-12-03 | Varning för återstart av datorer 3 januari, 2000 |
Ian Hugo från brittiska Task Force 2000, tror att övergången från 31 december till 1 januari blir ganska händelselös. Däremot kommer problemen att visa sig när folk startar upp sina datorer på nytt igen efter nyårshelgen på måndagen den 3 januari.
. . . Firstly, I don't expect anything much to happen on the 1st, when everybody will be watching. That's mostly because anything that could happen wouldn't happen then anyway. My forays around the world lead me to believe that most electricity and water production and distribution facilities are lightly affected at most and fallback/recovery will, at worst, ensure no deleterious effects for some time. Telecoms is more problematic but much the same applies. In any case, rollover errors account for only around 50% of potential failures in embedded systems, so system control engineer friends tell me, which is even more reason to expect nothing worse on the 1st than a hangover. Of course, there are always going to be the dozy few that prove the exception to the rule but they won't crash on the 1st anyway. . . . A lot of organizations are closing down plant before Christmas and backing up IT systems and shutting them down on the 31st. The plan is to bring all this up again in a phased manner in the new century. Plus, maybe, they'll do some extra last minute testing, particularly of interfaces along supply chains, etc. From one point of view, all that seems very reasonable. From another, it looks distinctly fraught with failure possibilities. For instance, everybody (I hope) knows that even shutting down servers that normally operate 24-7 and bringing them up again is frequently an unsuccessful exercise. With adequate backups, the problems won't take long to sort out but you wouldn't want too much of that happening all at the one time. . . . In a way, this is analogous to my view of a year ago, which seems to be proving true, that the type of failure most likely to be individually disruptive is failure to replace a system (for Y2K reasons) successfully on time. We have as much to fear from the cure as the Bug itself; MORs are designed to counter risk but introduce an extra risk element. . . . I have been assuming that at least the bright and wide-awake outfits will be maintaining the IT inventories they've at last gotten a hold of, will be maintaining and strengthening any control of the desktop they've managed to achieve, etc. Not so, it seems. . . . Even commercially, IT is still too much of a political football and, with IT Managers not knowing who, what or which bits of IT they'll still be managing in a year's time, it doesn't make much sense to lay down too many management plans. And I think that's sad. Because if there's one lesson the Y2K experience should have taught us it's that, for decades now, we've been building a brave new world on a pack of cards: castles built on sand. . . . |
| 1999-12-03 | Problem i Kina medges officiellt |
Det här är från Daily News:
China Official Cites Y2K Troubles BEIJING (AP) - Hospitals, businesses and parts of China's vast interior are unprepared for year-end computer problems, although banks, electric power and other vital sectors are basically ready, a senior government troubleshooter said today. With a month to go before the new year, the assessment given by China's top coordinator for Year 2000 computer glitches was the frankest admission by the government that troubles are certain to arise even if they are scattered. Government troubleshooters have been frustrated by China's size, uneven development, inefficient bureaucracy and lack of funds and awareness about the problems, said Zhang Qi, the Ministry of Information Industry official overseeing China's preparations. ``China is a big country with more than 30 provinces and over 1.2 billion people. So it's hard to get a complete picture in resolving Year 2000 problems, and there are areas we do not understand,'' Zhang said at a news conference with senior officials from the banking, aviation, electric power and telecommunications sectors. Zhang's evaluation underscores the difficulties in predicting whether and where the computer problems, also known as Y2K, will crop up. It also matches the assessment of foreign monitoring firms who believe that China belatedly mobilized money and staffing, saving key sectors and major cities while sacrificing others. |
| 1999-12-03 | De flesta företag saknar back up-plan beträffande löneutbetalningar för januari... |
Den här artikeln från USA Today frågar hur anställda erhåller lön i januari om de företag som hanterar deras löneutbetalningar fallerar pga y2k-problem. En annan relevant fråga: Hur ska de få betalt om företagen själva inte är 2000-säkrade?
Many companies have taken steps to ensure all systems will work, but others are just now putting aside extra money or preparing a full month of payroll in advance. If computer glitches occur, experts warn some employees could find themselves facing 2000 without a paycheck. "Most small-business owners that process their own payrolls are aware of their need to take steps to prevent Y2K-related computer problems," says Aida Alvarez, administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration. "But there's another group that's vulnerable, and that's the business operator who has his or her payroll done by an outside service." A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found only 35% of responding companies had made contingency plans for payroll problems. Examples include having enough cash on hand for at least one payroll in case accounts can't be accessed. . . . "Large companies have this all figured out. Small companies may be where the issues are," says Raymond Ochester at Automatic Data Processing (ADP), which handles payroll for more than 200,000 companies nationwide. "Do I believe there are going to be issues? Sure. There will be issues." . . . . "There are an awful lot of companies that haven't done a whole lot, and it's really going to affect them," says John Trahey, sales vice president. "People's checks may not be there." Adds Kristin Accipiter at SHRM: "Employers have been looking at the computer and technology side so long. Maybe they haven't paid enough attention to issues that affect employees." |
| 1999-12-03 | IEA har förberett ransoneringsplan för olja inför y2k |
International Energy Agency, IEA, har kungjort en global ransoneringsplan av olja inför y2k. Det här är en Reuters-nyhet genom ABC News.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has drawn up plans to provide emergency oil supply and introduce rationing if the Y2K computer bug plays havoc with global energy flows, a spokesman for the West's supply watchdog said Tuesday. The plan, to go for approval before the Paris-based group's board of governors on December 10, would kick in if computer failures feared at the dawn of the new century slash seven percent or more from industrial countries' oil supplies. "In the documents setting up the IEA the director is given the right to apply crisis mechanisms when there is turmoil in the oil markets," said IEA spokesman Scott Sullivan. "These would have to involve activating our systems in ways such as allocating oil reserves and restraining demand, for example with brief oil rationing." Y2K would have to cause massive problems to trigger the crisis plan -- industrialized OECD countries consume around 45 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil, so around three million bpd would have to be cut to reach the seven percent watershed. Sullivan declined to say how much oil the IEA plan would allow for release and added that the likelihood of supply chaos as a result of Y2K was low. "We plan a response if there are major problems but we do not foresee that happening," he said. "The most likely outcome is a few small problems here and there." This echoed a Monday declaration by OPEC powers Saudi Arabia and Venezuela as well as non-OPEC Mexico that Y2K was unlikely to affect world oil supply and that they would respond jointly to any possible glitch. "If any problem associated with Y2K does occur in the coming months, which is highly improbable, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Venezuela, in coordination with other oil producing countries, would respond in the appropriate way," they said. IEA members have to hold strategic stocks worth around 90 days of their combined import requirements of around 27 million barrels per day, giving them some 2.4 billion barrels in reserve. TIGHT OIL MARKETS RAISE Y2K STAKES Yet oil stocks in industrialised countries have been depleted by deep supply curbs from leading producers that fired world benchmark Brent crude to nine year highs above $25 a barrel just last week. Major suppliers to the huge U.S oil market such as Nigeria are considered particularly likely to suffer Y2K disruption. Another big U.S supplier, Iraq, has decided to wait and address any Y2K breakdowns after the event. Tankers and terminals are seen as most vulnerable to Y2K problems and many oil companies have suspended oil loadings around the turn of the year. . . . |
| 1999-12-03 | Washington Post: Pentagons datorer fortfarande inte 2000-säkrade |
Folk tror fortfarande att y2k blir en non-event. Datorer tror inte. De gör vad vi programmerat dem att göra. Och i det här fallet har vi inte gjort ett fullgott jobb med att programmera dem...
The Pentagon has a backlog of more than 600,000 employees awaiting investigations for security clearances in part because a $100 million effort to computerize the process has been a massive failure, government officials and members of Congress said yesterday. The new computer system installed by the Defense Security Service, which conducts the background checks, has "not operated as intended, is not year 2000 compliant and may cost about an additional $100 million to stabilize," according to a report this month by the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress. New background investigations, which are supposed to take 90 days, on average are taking 204 days, the GAO said. Based on a representative sample, it appears that less than 1 percent of the investigations are completed within the 90-day time frame, and almost 10 percent take more than a year, the report said. "This is a huge, massive failure," a senior staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee said yesterday. . . . Assistant Defense Secretary Arthur L. Money also has promised to follow some of the GAO's recommendations, including an immediate "Y2K testing and mitigation" program to ensure that the $100 million computer system, installed in October 1998, will not confuse the year 2000 with the year 1900. . . . The GAO report attributes the backlog to a dramatic drop in the number of field investigations that occurred when the Pentagon cut back its old system of handling cases "before assuring that the new computer system worked." Even if the new computer system is made operational, the GAO warned, the Defense Department "may have to replace it in order to meet user requirements." . . . . Och det är mindre än EN månad kvar! Jippie! |