FYI on the news front let see what they have to say.

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), August 20, 1999

Answers

Just watched the CBS report. Once again, they've ridiculed anyone with concerns about the infrastructure. Their graphic even had the title "Y2K Craziness." Still, their report showed people from the Orlando and Dallas utilities saying that they had no problems at all, and are completely ready for Y2K.

-- CD (CDOKeefe@aol.com), August 20, 1999.

Haven't seen the report yet. Just saw the teaser at the top of the news. Part of it read, "Will the Lights go out? The Dire Navy prediction, and how it got torpedoed."

We'll see.

By the way, has Jim Lord said anything today? Anybody know?

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), August 20, 1999.

O.K.

Major points made in report:

Navy survey posted on Web contained old data. Researcher who conducted survey said most who were surveyed said they were compliant. CBS correspondent attributed the Web posting of the report to human error.

Navy researcher was not interviewed on camera, just quoted.

City official in Orlando (which says it is Y2k Compliant, not Y2k Ready, but Y2k Compliant) was interviewed on camera, as was city official in Dallas who said they haven't missed a beat. Also interviewed was an official at the Defense Department, I believe. (I was destracted during that portion of the report, so he might have actually been from the Navy. I'm not sure.)

'Just passin it on.

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), August 20, 1999.

I'm also "spell-check" distracted.

:(

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), August 20, 1999.

I've been neutral on this story. I did send out some comments yesterday to the dc-y2k-WRP listserv. Summarizing, it doesn't matter what the Navy says, I'm hedging my bets, stuffs gonna break.

I watched CBS and it seemed that someone got to the Navy. But it doesn't matter. No one, not the Navy, not Ko-skin-em, not you or me can predict the future or call this one.

I'm not saying sell it all and run, run for your lives. I'm saying I know computers and some weird stuff's about to happen. Systems will fail and it will take weeks, months in some cases to bring them back online.

-- cory (kiyoinc@ibm.XOUT.net), August 20, 1999.

The CBS story had me cowering--for shame. What a dumb doomer I am. How could I believe the lights would go out. Huh? Wait a minute... The lights MIGHT go out--the electrical infrastructure is vulnerable, not all utilities have remediated, they have embedded chips, and Y2K will be the first live, end-to-end test in action. Why shouldn't the lights go out??

The piece was slick and definitive. Don't go for the cash, fools. They will call you CRAZY.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), August 20, 1999.

Mara,

Don't read anything into what I'm trying to say here, but I know you live somewhere in proximity to the "Big Apple," which is also the hub of American journalism.

I am puzzled by the fact that the New York Times did not run with the AP story this morning.

Time zone difference?

L.A. picked it up.

:)

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), August 20, 1999.

Cory,

There was a time (eons ago, it seems) when the three major networks had the leisure to fully investigate stories before they aired them.

I know this, because I cut my teeth on Nelson Benton and all of his contemporaries.

I stand by my earlier statements on various threads.

Gut feeling tells me they felt this story was important enough to get in on the air, but for whatever reason--it may not have been as thoroughly investigated as it would have been 20 years ago because time and budget constraints at the three major networks can no longer allow that type of reporting to occur. The "watering hole" days are behind them. CNN is the reason.

Paging Ike Pappas? (sp)

:) and :(

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), August 20, 1999.