Special to the Town Crier
AHewlett Packard Corp. executive came to the Los Altos Rotary meeting last Thursday and asked, "Are you OK with Y2K?"
Brad Whitworth, strategic communications manager for the worldwide year 2000 program at H-P, explained the Y2K myths people concern themselves with. Whitworth said we shouldn't worry so much.
"It won't be an horrendous event, but we should be aware of the millennium," Whitworth said. "In North America it won't be a big problem, but around the world there will be uncertainty, so we don't know what will happen. It would be good to stock up on food, fuel, medicine and water and be prepared."
Whitworth outlined some myths and addressed each one.
Myth No. 1 - No one has seen anything like this before.
"We have problems every leap year, and next year is leap year," he said. "It defies Y2K. The next step could be as close as 9-9-99. The industry has spent millions to fix these problems, and have devoted huge teams to correct it."
Myth No. 2 - Critical systems will fail, sparking a technological apocalypse.
"Everybody is testing, so there won't be a 'Cinderella story at midnight.' You may get a bill from your local utility for $1 million, but it will be corrected." Whitworth said PG&E will use the same procedure for a big winter storm come midnight 1999.
Myth No. 3 - You will need a new computer.
"There are no problems with the Macintosh and the PC will be fine. Check the operating systems and the hardware, but all the latest purchases are OK. Windows 95 will not be compliant, but all the latest Windows software is fine."
Myth No. 4 - Your home appliances will go haywire at midnight.
"Most appliances have chips, but washing machines and microwaves (and maybe your VCR) will have no problems. The only problem may be the swimming pool pump."
Myth No. 5 - Someone will come up with a quick fix.
No one will come up with a quick fix, but we should be more concerned with scams. Viruses and hoaxes will show up around the turn of the century. There will always be a nerd who will be proud to be the last or the first to provide a hoax or a virus.
"So what should we be doing?" Whitworth asked. "Complete an assessment on your home. If you only work with games and e-mail, don't worry. Nothing will show up at midnight. Y2K problems might continue for several months. Just take care of your own problems and those immediately around you, and hope that everyone is doing the same."
"If you purchased a PC computer in the last few years, you will have no problem, and Apple won't have any problem with the Mac until the year 2048," Whitworth said. "We have a fix for everything H-P ever made since 1985, and upgrades are free."