Small/Large business failures why?? or why not??

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Here's a question to ponder next time your at work or whenever. I work for a fairly large company and this summer before July 1 all the computers that are used on the sales floors and the others areas where all changed, even if there was no one sitting at those desks. These systems had typically have been in a range of three to five years old and switched to systems that are generally 1 yr old. Now if a reasoning person were to think about this does any business of any type change anything that is currently working. Farming (in which I grew up)we never replaced any equipment that wasn't totally broken down. Construction compaines don't to often replace their "front line stuff". Banks won't change the hardware of the local branch, they may do updates to software, etc. Factories won't retool unless they have a major design changes. You get the picture because unless it's not broke they don't fix it, sounds strange but I think it happens. Hmmm maybe it has to do with making a profit???? Now if someone can logically reason that this senario is not true please respond. (really no rants) Also if embedded chip problems are not true, and if systems really do work independently of each other, again respond logically. Anyone can dispute this type of observation but I think the real world does operate differently. The dinner bell is ringing here come and get some common sence.

-- Fuel boy (bschneid@netins.net), December 17, 1999

Answers

What's the question?

Ooops, it said contribute an *answer*, sorry.

-- W (me@home.now), December 17, 1999.


Hmmm, I heard I could get some sence here. Anyone know anything about it?

-- (cavscout@fix.net), December 17, 1999.

OK, now I can contribute an *answer*!

The sence is on the straw.

-- W (me@home.now), December 17, 1999.


The straw is in fuel boy's barn, where we also have all "the unfixed stuff that ain't broke."

Getting late, and very LEAN here at greenspun's. Already regretting to make it even leaner.

-- W (me@home.now), December 17, 1999.


Sounds to me like they remediated by replacing their systems. And who informed you Banks have not been replacing hardware?

There has been a huge effort over several years to make sure their business remain viable with the CDC. My hat is off to those who succeed. Every industry that gets it right is one less impacting my life come Jan Ist. I'll have enought to worry about.

-- Tommy Rogers (Been there@Just a Thought.com), December 17, 1999.



Yea, old stuff does tend to hang 'round. I should be "em-bare- assed"...

I still have a few 386 machines in production at work. One is the mainframe/LAN gateway, that doesn't know squat about dates. It moves the mainframe date to the PC, and, well, you know... It does the job just fine, and has been Y2K checked. We don't need anything better, no more speed, no more memory, it works. When it breaks, we'll fix it...

Another is our dial-up BBS (yea, we still have one), who's software has been "compliant" since at least 1995, believe it or not. It has talked to our LAN in the year 2000. The "Y2K team" checked it out, and we're good to go...

Us, we're an IT company, small (about 50 people), but more than half of us are programmers. We know all about what is needed to make a computer (well, a S/3x0 mainframe, or a PC), "compliant." Heck, people like me hang out in places like this, just trying to keep up (grin)...

But what does the Average Joe know about the problem? Is he going to be happy, after he spends $29.95 for the latest-and-greatest Y2K "update" at his local computer store? Will he be happy, after he downloads the latest SP from MS? MS may be happy, but what about the other APPLICATIONS? You know, the ones that Microsoft doesn't publish? Yea, they do offer some help on their Y2K site. Good luck...

I started a thread a few days ago, pointing out issues about Windows Y2K status. Win/95-98-NT-3.11(?) - they all have "issues." SOME PEOPLE ARE CONFUSED, just trying to keep with the OS update, let alone the HARDWARE update (if needed), and the APPLICATIONS. Let me say that again: APPLICATIONS!!!

Issues, minor issues, unless you're the one person in the whole world, that uses that "minor" feature...

So what does John Q. Small Businessman know about Y2? Heck, I'm not sure that I know, and I'm a regular, in more ways than one... Who knows when J.Q.S.B. will discover that he needs the latest and greatest Y2K update???

Tick... Tock... <:00= ...

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), December 18, 1999.


Fuel Boy:

The main crux of your post seemed to revolve around your company replacing PC's that still worked fine. This is done routinely at large companies who typically lease PC's rather than purchase them. Once the lease is ready to expire, a new load of leased PC's comes in to replace them. I've worked at several firms wherein our PC's were swapped out for this reason.

-- Anita (notgiving@anymore.com), December 18, 1999.


Anita, do you think it makes a difference if the company you work for owns all the systems and also makes them??? About 1000 or above at one site.

-- Fuel boy (bschneid@netins.net), December 18, 1999.

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