From Yahoo Y2K news dated today. <:)=

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Office Depot has agreed to post signs warning customers that merchandise may not be Y2K compliant, settling a lawsuit that accused the retailer of failing to alert buyers to potential problems in the software they sell.

Office Depot, of Delray Beach, Fla. also said it would provide manufacturer's Web addresses and phone numbers to help consumers check the products out, include Y2K information in their Sunday advertisements, and provide customers with an informational brochure.

Six other retailers also were targeted in the lawsuit filed by Tom Johnson, a Concord swim coach who got frustrated when store clerks couldn't say whether their new products were Y2K compatible.

The suit, filed last January, alleged that Circuit City, Fry's Electronics, The Good Guys, CompUSA, Staples, OfficeMax and Office Depot's lack of notice about Y2K problems is a violation of California's Unfair Competition Law.

``Many consumers believe that the Y2K problem will only affect older products and mainframe computers or large corporate networks,'' said Johnson's lawyer, Rich Ergo.

``Many products sold today are not compliant.''

Ergo begins court-mandated settlement talks on July 15 with the six other companies.

The suit is the first to target retailers. Most lawsuits have gone after software manufacturers for selling products that will allegedly become defective by the end of the year.

Judges have rejected most of those claims because no consumer has actually been damaged yet.

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), June 24, 1999

Answers

Hi Sysman,

I wonder whether Office Depot would have settled as quickly if the new Federal Y2K litigation bill were in effect. If there are going to be so few problems, why are the likes of Intel and Microsoft expending so much effort on trying to get legal preferences?

-- Mr. Adequate (mr@adequate.com), June 24, 1999.

Howdy Mr. Adequate,

I've asked that question a few times here, with not much feedback yet. I think the big boys are running scared, asking the .gov for special rules! Many say the legal costs will be at least equal to the fix costs, another trillion or so. Some form of a bill should be out of Congress soon. It should be interesting. <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), June 24, 1999.

(1) I guess I don't have anything to worry about here. We don't have Office Depot, Fry's Electronics, The Good Guys, CompUSA, Staples, or OfficeMax on Kauai.

(2) Does this mean that "disclosure" ammounts to putting up a sign saying that not everything that they sell may not be totally Y2K compliant? If so, it is very nearly worthless.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), June 24, 1999.

"(2) Does this mean that "disclosure" ammounts to putting up a sign saying that not everything that they sell may not be totally Y2K compliant? If so, it is very nearly worthless. "

I don't agree. I spend about 1/2 hour a day here, and have prepared as much as an unarmed suburb-dweller can without moving or buying a gun. Most people, though, don't think much about Y2K. A *lot* of people, though, go to office & computer super-stores. Seeing the Y2K "disclaimers" could do quite a bit to raise awareness.

Whether or not raising awareness at this point will help is another story...

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), June 24, 1999.

Went to Staples last week. Up new the cash registers they have whole boxes of FREE Y2K TEST SOFTWARE disks.

Thought that was "interesting."

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), June 24, 1999.

Anonymous99

I agree with you... it will surely raise awareness.

-- Sandmann (Sandmann@alasbab.com), June 24, 1999.