Gremlins start New Year's partying early Friday, December 3, 1999

By Steve Woodward of The Oregonian staff

The millennium bug isn't waiting until Jan. 1. It's striking in unexpected ways already, and it will continue to do so long after midnight on New Year's Eve.

Royal Doulton china may be one of the Year 2000 computer problem's earliest casualties.

The company that makes the famed china, Royal Doulton PLC of Staffordshire, England, has put itself up for sale, the British press reported this week.

And all because of a Y2K fix that failed.

Royal Doulton installed new Y2K-compliant warehouse management software this year. But software bugs gnawed at the delivery system for 10 weeks, costing the already-ailing company $19 million in sales. On Nov. 10, the company revealed its Y2K problems to shareholders, who sent the stock price into a 23 percent nose-dive.

Complete story at: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/99/12/st120304.html

-- Dave (dave@nospam.pls), December 03, 1999

Answers

What adds an ironic twist to this story is that Royal Doulton manufactures the ceramic filters for the British Berkefeld water filters many preppers use.

Royal Doulon woes

-- Wilferd (WilferdW@aol.com), December 03, 1999.

Yikes Wilferd! Glad I ordered my $41 siphon model yesterday (including tax and shipping). Here's the link if anyone wants a good gift for college kids, or a light weight Doulton for hiking or bug- out packs. They have the models with and without carbon. Carbon improves taste, but wears out quicker I take it, so I just got the ceramic/silver one. Took me 6 hours of slave labor to afford that puppy, so don't tease me;-)

http://www.pwgazette.com/gravity.htm

-- Hokie (nn@home.com), December 03, 1999.

For those who think y2k is a myth, the above post is a concrete example of what will happen when the clock rolls over...10 weeks, could'nt fix..bankrupt....fix problems in 2 or 3 hours?..what a laugh!

-- citizen (lost@sea.com), December 03, 1999.