Here's an interesting one: in the travel section of the Sunday, Oct 24 New York Times (page 3 thereof) is an article entitled "A British Web Site Offers Y2K Alerts", which talks about the British Foreign Office's site at www.fco.uk.gov

The article goes on to say "Potential problems exist in Russia -- where 400 of the 600 airports are described by a Russian official quoted by the Foreign Office as 'sure to have some Y2K difficulties' -- and in China (where 'hospitals face the problem of large numbers of items of equipment with imbedded (sic) chips and the difficulties of getting adequate information from suppliers.')"

Guess I won't be using my frequent-flyer points for bonus trips to Russia next year...

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), October 23, 1999

Answers

If you think the airport situation is bad, you might want to take a look at what the British web site says about the rest of the infrastructure and economy in Russia...

I assume that the U.S. State Department has similar information, whether or not they've chosen to share it with us peons. And that makes me wonder whether they seriously plan to leave U.S. embassy staff on-site in Moscow and St. Petersburg for the roll-over. As you may recall, in the Senate Y2K Committee meeting about a week ago, the State Department claimed that they would be making their decision (not just about Russia, but presumably all the other countries, too) by the end of October. That's now one week away...

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), October 23, 1999.

You can substitute U.S. for Russia and China and the story may still be close to accurate. Time will tell.

-- no talking please (breadlines@soupkitchen.gov), October 23, 1999.

The truly sad part is that some believe that troubles in "far away" lands will not, CANNOT truly have any effect on us here in the good old USA.

Looking around in several stores, as well as parts and electronics suppliers, I noticed a scary thing; almost EVERY "cheap" and "Convenient" item is now made overseas. IBM recently took a hit, as will all of the rest of the big IT suppliers, due to a natural occurence in Taiwan. The cost of Ram, Rom, and IC's is rising dramatically.

So the failures in other parts of the globe are sure to affect us HERE, on U.S. soil. Even if this whole thing ends up being one minor BITR, we will be living with the consequences of farming out our "needs" to countries where a person is paid in pennies, not dollars....

-- DavePrime (the_tv_guy@hotmail.com), October 23, 1999.

Ed, I'm not sure I'll leave my house anytime soon after the new year!

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), October 23, 1999.

HEEHEEHEEHEE.... Sorry, i didn't mean to laugh.

Actually, it is pretty SAD!!

The funny thing is contained in this statement:

(snip) OIL AND GAS

Transneft (responsible for oil pipelines) and Gazprom have assured the EU Presidency that there would be no problems with the transport of gas and oil from fields and refineries, and that all supplies would reach intended destinations. If problems arose they would be at the borders and beyond Russia's direct control.

(snip)

Sounds pretty familiar doesn't it?

WE'RE OKAY, It those LOSERS over THERE that are going to cause problems......

Lately i have seen the Fed. Gov. Spin so hard it reminds of the old Bugs Bunny cartoons. You know, the one with the Tazmanian Devil.....

Buckle up, It's going to be an interesting ride....

-- DavePrime (the_tv_guy@hotmail.com), October 23, 1999.

www.fco.uk.gov

Interesting sight, looked around a bit. Under U.S. they are saying that the U.S.P.S. is 99% ready. They must have worked a miracle since February.

Anyone else notice how so much of the U.S. is bogged down at the 98% or 99% Y2K ready level? Seems it's been that way for months.

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), October 24, 1999.

Link to the New York Times article:

A British Web Site Offers Y2K Alerts

If you plan to travel by rail in Japan on Dec. 31, don't panic if the train suddenly stops at midnight. The interruption, expected to last only 10 minutes, is intended by Japan Rail as a precaution against Y2K disruption.

If you are in Britain or France, and plan to celebrate the new century whizzing through the Channel Tunnel by train, forget about it -- Eurotunnel has canceled all commercial trains through the tunnel on the night of Dec. 31.

These travel tidbits, with implicit warnings, are among the many that can be be found on a Web site inaugurated last month by Britain's Foreign Office (www.fco.gov.uk). Designed as a guide for the British public and British businesses, the Web site consists of "country statements" relating to the Y2K preparedness of other countries -- 55 as of this writing, expected to increase to about 100.

Among other implicit warnings are not to find yourself short of cash in Taiwan at the end of the year, because banks there will be closed from Dec. 31 through Jan. 3, 2000, to avoid the risk of disruption.

In fact, if you travel abroad at all over New Year's, be aware that money may be hard to come by. In Mexico, for example, the central bank is working with its United States and Canadian counterparts to increase the number of notes and coins in circulation from late December through early January.

As might be expected, most developed countries come off well in the Foreign Office "statements." While the Web site states that almost anything can happen, it says that little disruption is likely to occur in most major cities of North America, Western Europe or Asia (including Japan and Thailand), or in Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong or New Zealand.

Travelers to the United States are warned about "problems with the potential readiness of airports and transit services in small communities and rural areas." The site also notes that while the pharma-ceutical industry is ready for the date change, there may be supply problems if people decide to stockpile prescrip-tions.

Potential problems exist in Russia -- where 400 of the 600 airports are described by a Russian official quoted by the Foreign Office as "sure to have some Y2K difficulties" -- and in China (where "hospitals face the problem of large numbers of items of equipment with imbedded chips and the difficulties in getting adequate information from suppliers").

Those shortcomings could be rectified by the end of the year, but anyone traveling to either country would be wise not to count on it.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), October 24, 1999.