This was posted at CBN site. How do the polly's explain it when State officials make dire statements like those in this article???? They must be under the influence of doomsday mind-manipulators. Or maybe they are begging to see the facts and the risks and to wake up??? Anyway, this article brings up the Date Exchange question again.

will these failures in exhange cripple us or just cause temporary aches and pains to our economy/society? Don't we all wish we knew for sure.....

Warning: Data Exchanges Still Ahead (Translation: Potential Disruptions)

http://year2000.dci.com/Articles/y2k99075.htm

(DCI IT)

Even though many organizations claim compliance now, or soon, difficulties remain:? How can Drew remain so calm and"neutral"? Look at the bolded words I read today. It jolts me into thinking about moving to Maine again, that is for sure..

So what's the problem? In two words: data exchange. With regard to achieving Y2K compliance, today's technological world is divided into two segments - the "haves" and the "have nots." Multiple layers of interdependent systems increases the potential for Y2K glitches. When the clock strikes midnight on 31 December 1999, not all computer systems will have achieved the same compliance standards - they will all be stop-clocked at varying levels of preparedness. As they continue to share information in the new millennium, the laggards could pull the leaders down with them.

Y2K experts predict that data exchange issues will be a major source of Y2K worry for organizations dealing with the date change. Mary Reynolds, Chief Technology Officer for the state of Illinois, opines that even the best of compliance efforts could be hurt by faulty data or Y2K-related failures in external systems. "Some systems are completely dependent on the quality of data they get from other systems," she says. "The real issue and real difficulty in predicting the impact of Y2K will really be those [data] exchanges."

Take, for example, government information systems. Many of these systems share data across numerous federal and state jurisdictions, including the records that make up our day-to-day dealings with government and affect everyday life. The smooth operation of the many federal programs with which we are all familiar -- Medicare, Medicaid, child support and unemployment insurance, for example -- is dependent on an uninterrupted and accurate electronic exchange of data between states and the federal government. A breakdown anywhere in the system could be disastrous...

The same applies to overseas trade. A bug-related disruption could cause serious damage to several national economies and spell disaster for the global economy as a whole. But many countries remain apathetic. Stephanie Moore of the Giga Information Group points out that "the United States is the only country working on contingency planning and the only country with extensive executive-level awareness." This could mean disruptions in some of our essential supplies - including oil. To avoid such a scenario, Moore advises American businesses to "Make sure that any company, business partner, supplier or subsidiary that affects your bottom line is compliant. If they aren't, you must have a back-up plan."

Drew Parkhill

-- Walter Skold (wsvnsk2@juno.com), August 02, 1999

Answers

Thanks for the informative post Drew. Maybe these people are starting to lend an ear to gary norths rantings......as some would put it..... url:http://www.garynorth.com/y2k/detail_.cfm/5614

-- kevin (innxxs@yahoo.com), August 03, 1999.

For detail on how corrupt data will bring down the banking system see the banking archives - "Visa is toast" specifically.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), August 03, 1999.