http://www.exci
te.com/info/disclaimer/y2k_statements
We all know that the "Year 2000" problem has been getting a lot of
attention lately. Because of this interest, the U.S. Congress recently
passed a law that gives companies a chance to make or remake
statements regarding their ability to deal with the change in date
from 1999 to 2000 without incurring additional liability. The purpose
of this law is to promote free and full disclosure so everyone gets
the information they need to prevent Y2K glitches.
Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act of 1998
This Web site contains Year 2000 statements regarding Excite, Inc.
Information contained on this Web site or Excite's past and present
Web sites regarding products and services offered by Excite are "Year
2000 Readiness Disclosures" as defined by the Year 2000 Information
and Readiness Disclosure Act of 1998, (Public Law 105-271, 112 Stat.
2386) enacted on October 19, 1998. Excite's Year 2000 Internet Web
site pages have been and will continue to be our primary mechanism for
communicating Year 2000 information.
Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure
Previously, Excite may have provided a statement or statements
regarding the Year 2000 status of certain products or services
provided by Excite. We are designating all such statements, as well as
any other Year 2000 information provided to you or contained on our
Web site regarding products and services offered by Excite or with
respect to Excite's year 2000 processing capabilities or readiness, as
"Year 2000 Readiness Disclosures," subject to the limitations set
forth below:
Year 2000 Background
Many currently installed computer systems, hardware and software
products are coded to accept only two digit entries in the date code
field and cannot distinguish 21st century dates from 20th century
dates. These date code fields will need to distinguish 21st century
dates from 20th century dates and, as a result, many companies'
software and computer systems may need to be upgraded or replaced in
order to comply with such "Year 2000" requirements. Excite's business
uses numerous systems that may potentially be impacted by Year 2000
related problems. Those systems include, among others:
* hardware and software systems used by Excite to deliver services to
its consumers and manage its business, including Excite's proprietary
software systems as well as hardware and software supplied by third
parties;
* communications networks, such as the Internet, which Excite depends
on to provide services;
* the internal systems of Excite's consumers, users and suppliers;
* and non-information technology systems and devices used by Excite in
its business, such as telephone and building systems.
Our Plan
Excite has implemented a six-phase plan to mitigate if possible Year
2000 effects on Excite's business and systems. Excite has designated a
Year 2000 project team, given it a budget, and charged it with the
task of developing and implementing the plan. In addition, our plan
has executive sponsorship, and is currently regularly reviewed by
senior management. Our six-phase plan, although subject to change
without notice in Excite's sole discretion, presently includes the
following:
* Phase one, awareness: involves increasing company awareness by
educating and involving all appropriate levels of management regarding
the need to address Year 2000 issues.
* Phase two, inventory: consists of identifying all of Excite's
systems, technology, services and relationships that may be impacted
by Year 2000.
* Phase three, assessment: involves determining Excite's current state
of Year 2000 readiness for those areas identified in the inventory
phase and prioritizing areas that need to be addressed.
* Phase four, remediation: consists of developing a plan and
repairing, replacing or retiring those systems identified as needing
correction in the assessment phase.
* Phase five, validation: involves developing test plans, conducting
tests and analyzing the results of these tests to assure all key
systems are Year 2000 compliant.
* Phase six, implementation and contingency planning: consists of
moving compliant systems back into the production environment and to
assure systems' Year 2000 status remains unaffected by subsequent
changes. The contingency plan includes developing Excite's response to
failure of mission critical systems, and other major risks related to
Year 2000 compliance.
Excite has completed phase one, awareness and phase two, inventory and
currently is in phase three, assessment, which is scheduled to be
substantially complete by the end of the second quarter of 1999. Phase
four, remediation, and phase five, validation, are scheduled to be
substantially complete by the third quarter of 1999. Phase six,
implementation and contingency planning, are scheduled to be
substantially complete early in the fourth quarter of 1999.
In addition to the systems used by Excite in its business, Excite
utilizes third-party equipment and software in the delivery of its
services and in the management of its business that may not be Year
2000 compliant. Excite relies upon various vendors, governmental
agencies, utility companies, telecommunication service companies,
including Internet service and online service providers, delivery
service companies and other service providers who are outside Excite's
control. Excite has not fully determined the progress of these
entities in identifying and addressing systems that may potentially be
impacted by Year 2000 related problems. As part of phase two,
inventory, Excite plans to make inquiries of certain of these entities
and take steps to assess or monitor compliance.
Excite is also subject to external forces that generally affect
similarly situated businesses over which it has no control, such as
possible interruptions of utility or data network services as a result
of Year 2000 failures. In the event any third parties cannot timely
provide Excite with content, products, services or systems that are
Year 2000 ready or if there are unremediated problems with Excite's
proprietary systems, the content on Excite's services, access to
Excite's services, the ability to offer page views, products, services
and the ability to recognize or process sales may be affected.
Further, outages, delays and other difficulties due to system failures
unrelated to Excite's services or systems may affect Excite's
services.
While Excite has identified tasks to be accomplished and plans to
attain Year 2000 readiness, there is no assurance that Excite will
succeed in its efforts to address all Year 2000 issues. In an effort
to reduce the risks associated with the Year 2000, Excite has taken
the additional step of incorporating contingency planning into its
six-phase plan, building upon disaster recovery and contingency
planning that Excite already has in place.
Excite cannot and will not make any representations regarding the Year
2000 compliance or readiness of any other person or entity or of any
products or services provided by a third party. To the extent you have
been provided with any prior statements regarding the services or
products of Excite or a third party that are inconsistent with any of
the statements contained here or on our Web site, the statements
contained here shall be controlling and you may not rely upon any such
inconsistent statement. You should refer to this Year 2000 Internet
Web site for the most current information regarding Year 2000
readiness. This Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure designation applies to
information delivered to you, through or derived from Excite's past
and present Web site pages, and or other channels or materials,
including but not limited to customer service or technical support.
This disclosure is intended solely for products or services sold and
provided to customers in the United States and is not to be relied
upon outside the United States.
The above discussion for the Year 2000 is based on Excite's best
estimates given information that is currently available, and is
subject to change.
On a quarterly basis, Excite files financial reports with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that currently include
statements on the status of our year 2000 readiness. This is an edited
version. For the full text, you can look at the SEC Filings Link on
our Investor Relations site, or it is available from many public
sources. If you have any reason to contact us regarding Y2K, please
feel free to send an email to Y2K@excitecorp.com.
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I wonder how many other entities, large and small, are in similar
positions? In the time of the "end game" I find no comfort in r
-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), September 07, 1999