Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Microsoft Targets 'Year 2000' Flaws > SEATTLE (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday that two > dozen of its products have problems with the ``Year > 2000'' software glitch, including the Windows 95 and > Windows NT operating systems. > > Although it characterized most problems as ``minor > issues,'' Microsoft said three older software programs > had serious flaws. > > Microsoft, whose software is found on nearly every > personal computer, launched a new Internet site with > information on how its products will handle the year > 2000 changes, and how companies and individuals can > avoid end-of-the-century sorrow. > > Microsoft's centerpiece product, the Windows operating > system that runs on about 90 percent of all personal > computers, is generally OK, or ``year 2000 compliant,'' > said Jason Matusow, manager of Microsoft's year 2000 > compliance program. > > Windows 98, the upgrade due out June 25, fully meets > year 2000 requirements, while Windows 95 and Windows NT > are compliant except for minor issues, he said. > Microsoft is in the process of testing its older Windows > 3.1 version. > > Among other programs with minor problems that will need > to be fixed are some versions of Internet Explorer, > Microsoft's Web browser, and Office 95, Microsoft's > suite of business programs. > > By ``minor issues,'' Microsoft means peripheral > functions that don't interfere with the software's main > job. For example, on some versions of Windows 95, > setting the program to recognize Feb. 29 in a leap year > after 2000 can be done on the keyboard, but not with a > mouse, Matusow said. > > The year 2000 problem is simple. In older software, > programmers saved space by referring to years only by > their last two digits. That's fine until 2000, when > computers and other devices running such software might > read ``00'' as earlier than ``99.'' > > That could be a huge worry for anyone who files data by > date, including nearly every business and personal > computer user. For example, accounting software might > read all accounts receivable in 2000 as earlier than > 1999, and thus overdue. > > The real worry, Matusow said, is many businesses, > especially small ones, don't know what impact the > software flaws might have, and time is growing short. > ``As you start moving into smaller organizations, the > awareness is lower and lower,'' he said. > > Matusow gave no figure on how much Microsoft is spending > on the year 2000 problem, but said hundreds of people > are working on it. > > Microsoft says just three of its products will cause > major errors when 2000 rolls around. All are older > versions that have long since been updated. > > The most serious is Word 5.0 for DOS, which was > Microsoft's premier word processor when issued in 1989, > before the introduction of Windows. If it creates a file > dated after Jan. 1, 2000, the computer can freeze up, > Matusow said. > > Access 2.0, Microsoft's database program released in > April 1994, reads two-digit year dates as 20th century. > That can be avoided by always writing years with four > digits, but not everyone might remember to do that. > > Office Professional Edition versions 4.0-4.3, a suite of > business software which included Access 2.0, has the > same two-digit year problem. > > Microsoft recommends users of those programs upgrade to > later editions. For most products with minor compliance > issues, it will offer free software patches to fix the > problems. Web address is www.microsoft.com/year2000/ -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
