University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, January 29, 1999 Page: 4 of 6
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University Press • Friday, January 29,1999 • Page 4
Y2K bug keeps business people awake
Teddy Assefa
UP staff writer
What is the Y2K problem that we
constantly hear about, and how will it
affect the computer systems that we
use?
Conceptually, the problem is simple
to understand. But the consequences
and containment of the Y2K bug are
what make large-scale business execu-
tives and computer scientists unable to
sleep at night.
In older computer systems, software
packages and system programs were
designed to represent the current year
as two digits (the last two digits of the
standard form). Therefore, the year
2000 will be interpreted as 1900 on
many systems.
One of two things may occur: A
given program may not be able to han-
dle the “00” input and cause the com-
puter to halt (a hard crash), or the pro-
gram may simply accept the “00” input
and produce outrageously incorrect
calculations (a soft crash).
In both cases the results may have
devastating effects, especially in real-
time and mission-critical environ-
ments. Some industries of concern
include communications, electrical
power entities, financial services firms,
and federal agencies such as the Social
Security Administration.
“The threat is a real one,” Lawrence
Osborne, chair of the Lamar computer
science department, said.
He said that that there has been a
recent rise in Y2k-compliant computer
sales in the United States. He also said
that the export of U.S.-built computers
has dropped because businesses in the
States are buying up computers built in
this country that are Y2K-compliant.
He also said the use of the date field
in both software and hardware is so
widely used that it is unlikely all errors
will be corrected.
Gartner Group, Inc., a leading con-
sulting and research firm based in
Connecticut, has estimated a cost of
$300 billion to $600 billion to correct
the Y2k problem worldwide.
Jack Mades, interim director of the
Lamar Computer Center, said that the
university met its goal to upgrade its
computer systems before the deadline
set by the state of Texas, which was
Dec. 31,1998.
“We worked extremely hard,”
Mades said, “and had no outside, con-
tracted help.”
A total of 600 man-hours and
approximately $200,000 went into
preparing Lamar University for the
year 2000, he said.
Most work in replacing Lamar’s
financial records system, student
records system, and library systems
was completed over the Christmas
break, Mades said.
However, according to most author-
ities on this problem, the majority of
the costs is projected to occur not in
the corrective work but in unit and sys-
tem testing. For instance, there is the
problem of integrating a Y2k-compli-
ant unit into the rest of the organiza-
tion and hoping other branches are
also Y2k compliant. The greater chal-
lenge is therefore in project manage-
ment, where job prioritization, alloca-
tion of personnel and financial re-
sources, and setting contingency plans
are performed.
Since most applications are distinct
in language and function, there is no
single adaptable software that the pop-
ulation can buy and use for its various
environments and expect to become
Y2k compliant. The answer lies in
skilled programmers who are profi-
cient in a language and familiar with
the specific application.
Furthermore, in addition to both
system and application programs that
are run on main frames and personal
computers, embedded microprocessors
on non-computer equipment will also
be affected. This will affect such every-
day, common uses of the computer,
such as security systems, telephone sys-
tems, elevators, HVAC, automobiles,
and the list goes on.
One answer to solving hardware
non-compliance is to pursue the “out
with the old, in with the new” philoso-
phy.
An example of this was the replace-
ment of the old, non-Y2k-compliant
voice registration with a brand new
voice-and-web registration system.
Additionally, the computer science
department foresaw the threat of the
millennium bug early in 1997, Osborne
said. The department then started to
replace all of its hardware as well as its
software. It currently has computers
that are not more than three years old.
Some Y2k-compliant software includes
MS Office, Borland C++, and Solaris (a
UNIX-based operating system).
Yes, Lamar seems to be in good
shape to meet the new century without
much worry of computer malfunction.
And, yes, the world will get through
Jan. 1, 2000, in one way or the other.
But the degree to which businesses and
processes will be disrupted and the
length of the disruption are still
unknown and much debated.
Double plot headstones effected by Y2K
ALBANY, Ore. (AP) —
Even death is no escape
from the Y2K bug.
Cemetery headstones in-
tended for a double plot —
to be occupied someday by
husband and wife — usually
are engraved with the first
two digits of the year the sur-
vivor is expected to die.
That’s more efficient and
less expensive than having a
stone mason sandblast the
entire date once the marker
is already in the ground.
The prefix “19” has been
popular for much of the cen-
tury. But if you have a so-
called companion stone, and
you had it pre-engraved, and
you don’t plan to die within
the next 11 months or so,
you have a Y2K problem.
Take 88-year-old Mildred
Warner-Blake.
“I have to die this year,”
Warner-Blake said Saturday,
chuckling.
In 1966, when her first
husband died, she had a
companion monument made
for the double plot where
she would someday join
him.
“I never thought about
the year 2000,” Warner-
Blake said.
The simplest remedy is to
fill the offending digits with
a mixture of rock dust and
epoxy and re-engrave the
marker with the correct mil-
lennium, says Mark W.
James, a stone cutter in
Silverton.
For people with markers
in the cemeteries that hire
James for maintenance and
repair, the fix is free. For
others, it’s just a $50 job.
“God bless ‘em if they
live past 1999,” he said.
OP briefs-
Family center offers educational therapy
Family Services of Beaumont is offering two four-session educational
groups to help individuals cope with anger or survive separation.
Letty Lanza, spokesperson for the center, says each $20 session will
focus on encouraging self-betterment through education and therapy.
The anger group meets for four Thursdays, beginning Feb. 4. The group
for the recently separated or divorced meets for four Thursdays, beginning
Feb. 18. To register or for more information, call 833-2668.
Stiles to speak on Boomtown history
Jo Ann Stiles, assistant professor of history, will conduct a two-evening
course on the history of Spindletop at the Spindletop/Gladys City
Boomtown Museum on Feb. 9 and 11 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Title of the
course is “Spindletop Stories and Texas Oil Tales.”
Christy Marino, spokesperson for the event, says the course will include
historical facts and humorous anecdotes about the birth of the Southeast
Texas oil industry.
This $30 course is offered through the department of continuing educa-
tion. For registration information, call 835-0823. Participants may register
in 103 Montagne.
Christian Scientist to speak Feb. 9
Lynn Jackson, a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship,
will speak in the Lamar Bookstore on Feb. 9 about how reading Mary
Baker Eddy’s “Science and Health” has strengthened and given meaning to
her life. Eddy was the founder of Christian Science.
Anne Vrolyk, bookstore merchandise manager, said informal discus-
sions will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the bookstore in the
Setzer Student Center. Students, staff and faculty are invited. Each sesssion
is short and designed to accommodate class schedules. Refreshments will
be served.
Eddy has been honored in the National Women’s Hall of Fame. For
more information, call 880-8342.
Springfest ’99 scheduled, given theme
Springfest ’99 is scheduled for March 27, and the theme this year is
“Don’t Gamble on Your Future.”
Melissa Chesser, director of recruitment, encourages deans, chairs and
program directors to invite prospective students and their parents to cam-
pus for this event. A complimentary lunch will be provided, along with
activities for children, campus tours, tips on college success, music, and
other entertainment.
For more information, call Chesser at 880-8890.
Crisis center offers free speakers
The Rape and Suicide Center for Southeast Texas is offering guest
speakers, free of charge, to talk with organizations on topics such as sexual
harassment and date rape.
Kerri Clark, education director, said that the center also offers talks on
drugs, suicide prevention and personal safety.
For more information, call Clark at 832-6530 or l-800-7We-Care.
DuPont offering scholarships for fall
DuPont Dow Elastomers, Inc., of Beaumont has presented Lamar
University Institute of Technology with a check for $1,000 to award two
scholarships for process operating students next year.
Harry Wood, LUIT director of public information, said the $500 schol-
arships will be presented for fall 1999 to students who have at least a 3.0
GPA and demonstrate good citizenship in their community and school.
Students must apply for the awards by Feb. 15 to the financial aid adviser
at LUIT, P.O. Box 10043, Beaumont 77710.
For more information, call Wood at 880-2292.
Public painting coming to Beaumont
The worldwide tour of “A Little Dab of Texas,” a 12-panel painting with
25,297 painters and one designer, will pause in Beaumont for an exhibit and
a reception on Feb. 11 and 12.
The event will be held at Kristy’s Korner, 4285 Calder, Wendy Haviland,
spokesperson for the event, said.
For more information or an appointment, call Haviland at 892-9774.
Deadline for submitting announcements for UPbriefs is noon of the day
one week prior to publication. Announcements are run as space allows —
no exceptions. Press release forms are available for organization
reporters in the UP office, 200 Setzer Student Center. Information may
be sent to P.O. Box 10055, Beaumont 77710 or by fax to 880-8735.
ATTENTION BICYCLE RIDERS
If your SPINERGY WHEEL failed
You may be entiled to
COLLECT DAMAGES
1-800-414-9757
George L. Hazzard, Lawyer-Dallas, Tx
Accepted claims will likely invlove referral.
Not certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Smoking contributes to a
woman’s risk of heart
disease and stroke, which
increases your chance of
seeing doctors. But is that
really the kind of date
you’d like? To learn more,
visit www.eimericanheeirt.org
Women who smoke get
MORE DATES
WITH DOCTORS
or call 1-800-AHA-USA1
American Heart
Association
Fighting Heart Disease
and Stroke
This space provided as a public service.
© 1998. American Heart Association
BEGIN BUILDING YOUB FUTUBE
Feb. 2,10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Setzer Student Center Ballroom
Featuring over 40 different employers
Seniors, bring your resumes • Open to all students
Career Center
-Your Key to Employment-
102 Galloway Business Building • 880-1853
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Dorman, Billie. University Press (Beaumont, Tex.), Vol. 75, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, January 29, 1999, newspaper, January 29, 1999; Beaumont, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth500830/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Lamar University.