 |
||||
  
 
 |
Critical systems deemed Y2K compliant at USU
By Emily Jensen
The countdown continues. On Jan. 1, 2000, people all over the world will celebrate the arrival of a new millennium. Unfortunately, they will have to wait an entire year for the true millennium, as recorded by Georgian Calendar, to begin. Yet the general populace is determined to make this New Year's memorable. And perhaps it will be, considering the Y2K bug. But USU should be ready for the technological glitch in which computers read the year 2000 as the year 1900. "The campus Y2K committee has determined that we are fully compliant in our mission-critical systems," said USU's Information and Learning Resources Staff Assistant Merry Lu Zeller. Found at the index to USU's online site, www.usu.edu/alhpa.htm, is the Y2K Readiness link. Clicking takes you to the site of the Information Technology Policy and Strategy Committee Year 2000 Progress Report, www.usu.edu/~lrp/y2kframes.htm. This committee has representatives from administration, computing and networks, physical plant, academics, housing, and telecommunications and telephone services. The group's theme is "preparation, not panic." The committee identified a list of core university systems to test, and then, through a six-step compliancy test, each system was declared ready for the turn of the computer clock. The six steps were awareness; inventory; assessment; replacement of hardware, and software upgrades if needed; validation; and implementation. After the implementation step, the committee submitted a status report to the university administration. A member of this committee, Zeller explained the critical systems that are Y2K ready are the SIS (Student Information System) and FRS (Financial Resources System). "These computer systems are necessary to run all student, financial and staffing information," Zeller said. Zeller also explained that by turning the clocks ahead, the phone and emergency systems also were tested. For students staying at the university during the holidays, Zeller said the physical plant department conducted inventories and identified areas of concern to ensure that these students will have heat and electricity. Even if the power fails because the pipes freeze, the university has the necessary generators in place. Thus, USU should be Y2K compliant. Yet, in the rest of the world, there may still be cause for alarm. For example, the European Parliament voted in November to shut down its nuclear weapons alert systems during the millennial calendar change because of fears of accidental, Y2K-induced ballistic missile launches. U.S. Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Y2K, answered this action with a Y2K press release. He said the vote troubled him. "Shutting down missile warning systems would be far more dangerous than any problem that may arise from Y2K. What the European Parliament is asking countries to do is wear blindfolds during the crucial date rollover," Bennett said. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said that in his many visits to Russia and through his talks with experts, he has learned that the chances of an accidental missile launch due to Y2K "are almost non-existent." Bennett said the missiles wouldn't launch by themselves. The commands to launch must be given by a human. By voting to turn off the alert system, the Parliament may have invited an opportunity for disaster. "International cooperation and awareness are the keys to avoiding a Y2K catastrophe, not pulling the plug and hoping for the best," he said. For more information on the Senate Special Committee on Y2K, visit its online site at http://www.senate.gov/~y2k/index.html. For personal precautions, the Utah online site for Y2K recommends some minimum preparations for the unexpected. According to the website, the following are recommended: € Acquire a first-aid kit and know how to use it. € Keep all of the important family documents in a waterproof, portable container or in a safety deposit box. € Enlarge the stock of critical spare computer parts and office supplies and print out all needed documents. € Keep one's money in the banks, savings and loans, or credit unions. € Gradually store food, water, medications, and other essentials that one may need to survive. "The sky will not fall if everybody becomes properly aware," Bennett
said. |
Archived Months:
September
1998 |
||