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INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY AND THE INTERNET
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After getting a lot of pressure from its user community,
Microsoft this week announced it will provide a much
more content-rich website for dealing with the Year
2000 problem. Bill Gates' crew has come under heavy
criticism for softly sidestepping this issue for some
time.
The Year 2000 problem, also known as the Y2K issue or
the Millennium Bug, is the set of problems associated
with computer hardware and software systems not equipped
to deal with the change from 1999 to 2000, because
they are using only two digits for the year instead
of four.
The revamped web site will group the software giant's
products into several categories that describe just
how "Y2K-compliant" each is. According to
Jason Matusow, the Redmond, Washington-based company's
year 2000 strategy manager, Microsoft will also make
available "product guides" for Windows, Office,
Back Office, and Visual Studio.
This move may signal some recognition on Microsoft's
part that not everyone will be moving to Windows 98,
the long-delayed operating system which is expected
to be Y2K-compliant. Instead, there are strong signals
from the Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 user base that
they are quite happy where they are, and may not migrate
to the new operating system before 2000. Therefore,
finally, Microsoft is taking a more open and honest
look at the issue.
One interesting thing to look for will be Microsoft's
definition of "Y2K-compliance." To date,
they have been claiming that all Office 97 products
are "Y2K-ready," meaning that they are capable
of handling a four-digit year. However, these Microsoft
products also permit the user to develop macros and
formulas using two-digit years, and there are even
several examples in the official product documentation
where a two-digit year is still used.
Most industry experts agree on a different definition
for Y2K-compliance. A Y2K-compliant system should force
the user to four-digit year entries or establish a
"window" so that two-digit year dates can
be clearly and unmistakably understood. So, while Microsoft
Office products may have a built-in "window"
for two-digit dates, by allowing users to develop formulas
based on two-digit dates, there are a lot of "Y2K-doomed"
user-developed spreadsheet and database applications
out there.
For example, Excel 97 has a "window" 1930
to 2029. That means if you enter a date like 22/06/14,
Excel 97 will assume it is 22 June 2014, but any two-digit
year date with a year between 30 and 99 will be assumed
to be 19xx. Excel uses a slightly different window,
from 1920 to 2019 (for pre-Excel 97 releases).
The categories for products on the new Microsoft Y2K
site are expected to be:
1. Fully compliant products: If a service pack fix or
software patch is needed, the product will be listed
with that prerequisite.
2. Semi-compliant: This category is for products for
products that have an outstanding date issue, but whose
core functionality is not affected. "For example,
in the old Windows 3.X, you can set the date to be
a leap year with the mouse, but not the keyboard,"
Matusow said.
3. Not compliant.
4. Under testing: These are products Microsoft is currently
testing and evaluating for Y2K status.
5. Will not be tested: These are products Microsoft
does not plan to test nor offer any year 2000 warranty
on.
Toolkits
Microsoft announced that it plans to keep the Y2K website
updated as it completes testing and development of
new core products. Microsoft will release a directory
of Y2K tools, which can help users test and remediate
code to achieve Y2K compliance of their customized
spreadsheets and databases. They also plan to list
other "companies that have specific tools for
specific issues," Matusow said.
I've been writing about the Y2K for well over a year
now, and this is another important step in acknowledging
that it is not a small problem nor is it we one we
can afford to ignore.
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Email comments and questions to: kilenm@bigfoot.com
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