Management consultants are making a mint out of the threat posed to computer systems by the year 2000. But it appears that they’re none to confident that their well-rewarded work will be effective. A survey by the Management Consultants Association, reported in the Financial Times, reveals that half would not prepared to be flying in an aircraft at the moment that January 1, 2000 dawns. Meantime however, at least Boeing Corp is taking the problem seriously and changed its computer systems to handle 4-digit dates early to avoid Y2K problems. However, terminal users were so used to typing in the last two digits for the year, they simply typed in 97 twice for the date because the machines won’t budge unless it gets four digits. However, the company’s warehouses were suddenly bulging with goods – all scheduled for delivery at various dates in 9797. A little education for users could surely have prevented the problem.
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