Q

The Year 2000 issue is upon us. Much has been written about it, primarily in the context of the business-side computer systems that are clearly at risk. However, we suspect that with the heavy amount of technology now in place in nearly every area of operations and production, there is likely some risk of failure in any area where date-related technology is at work. The problem is identifying all such situations.

Is TechNews planning to address the Year 2000 issue in the near future? If so, would it be feasible to establish some sort of regularly updated informational forum where relevant Year 2000 technology issues could surface and recommended solutions be kept for reference?

Gary McCormick
Director, Technology Special Projects
Knight-Ridder Inc.

A

TechNews has already addressed the issue (see "It's Time to Tame Time," Nov/ Dec 1996, p. 13).

Also, NAA has hired a consulting firm to investigate the Year 2000 problem. The firm surveyed both systems vendors and newspapers about where they think the problems are and how they plan to solve them. These surveys are now being followed with in-depth interviews. We expect the research to be completed in April and the results published shortly thereafter. We will carry a summary in TechNews.

Your question prompted us to think about how to promote discussion among those responsible for managing the problem. We are considering setting up a bulletin board on our Web site or establishing an e-mail listserv around the topic.

Clark Robinson
TechNews Editor