I have added a slide on the problem (2 digits instead of 4), the solution (expansion vs. windowing), several quotes on embedded chips, including Jim Lord's "900 pound gorilla", and the following quote from Senator Bennett, which I've put under the category of "Global Perspective":

Youre...going to have countries--and I say countries--that will simply drop off the radar screen on January 1st, with enormous problems What are we going to do when the more compliant countries start getting reports of people starving, dying, water purification problems, lack of power, and so on, in countries all over the world?

And this from Ed Yardeni:

Leadership has been shockingly absent. If calamity takes place, they [political leaders] will all be blamed. They are wimping out and hoping it will go away by itself Its outright pathetic that there hasnt been any leadership from a global politician.

And from Ed Meagher:

The media remain woefully ignorant about Y2K and consistently fail to ask the right questions of those who choose to try and baffle us with waffle and spin. That will all change in the next few months as the extent of the crisis begins to unfold.

I've also added a brief bio.

Please e-mail me if you'd like a free copy. It is ideally suited for a 2-3 hour group presentation.

Please let me know if you need version 4.0.

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), October 18, 1998

Answers

Just a brief comment on Sen. Bennett's quote cited above:

Notice that he says "going to", "will", and "when", as opposed to "may", "might", and "if".

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), October 19, 1998.

The following quote was added to the "Health Care" category:

HCFA [Health Care Financing Administration] and its contractors are severely behind schedule in repairing, testing, and implementing the mission-critical systems supporting Medicare As of June 30, 1998, less than a third of Medicares 98 mission-critical systems had been fully renovated, and none had been validated or implemented It is highly unlikely that all of the Medicare systems will be compliant in time to ensure the delivery of uninterrupted benefits and services into the year 2000. -US General Accounting Office (GAO) Report to Congressional Requesters, Medicare Computer Systems: Year 2000 Challenges Puts Benefits and Services in Jeopardy, 9/98

And the following quote was added:

There have always been forecasts of impending doom, and those who deliver them again and again are rightly treated with skepticism. But this happens to be a well-documented problem, the first global disaster to unfold right on schedule. -Scott Olmsted, software engineer, founder of prepare4y2k.com

The following quote was added under the category "The Power Grid":

I think it is axiomatic that there are going to be power failures due to Y2K. The only thing that is uncertain about it is how many are you going to have and the extent to which the problem cascades. -John Pike, analyst with the Federation of American Scientists, a Washington D.C., think tank

2 quotes added in category of "Banking":

I do not think it would be possible to overstate the importance of the Year 2000 problem as an issue for financial markets. The Year 2000 problem is an issue for every country, firm, organization, government agency, bank and piece of critical infrastructure in the world. -William McDonough, President, Federal Reserve Bank of New York

The largest banks on earth are in Japan, where 70 percent of the computer systems use customized code, as opposed to 30 percent in the U.S., making repair more difficult. The repercussions of their failure could be felt here for a generation or more. -Scott Olmsted, software engineer, founder of prepare4y2k.com

The following quote was added to the category "Transportation":

Im fearful that we will not be ready in time, there will be delays and detours. Planes will stay on the ground and this means capital will not be generating money. Within a half a year some [airlines] will be facing bankruptcy. -Max Rens, Chief Information Officer, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

Under the category "Food Supply":

I expect to see a great deal of panic buying, particularly in the last few weeks of December [1999]. Thats not difficult to foresee Imagine how long the lines would be if we had to run around getting price checks on every single item, hand-write receipts, manually calculate sales tax and total, etc. In all honesty, I would lock the doors. -Store Manager, requesting anonymity, of a large grocery store chain

This is Global Y2K Awareness Week, as many of you know. Spread the word!!

-- Steve Hartsman (hartsman@ticon.net), October 19, 1998.