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<DIV><BR><FONT size=2>Regards,<BR>Ton Maas<BR><A
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<CENTER><B><FONT size=4>Microsoft Outlines a Three-Step Approach to Help
Consumers Tackle the Y2K Problem </FONT></B></CENTER>
<P><B>REDMOND, Wash., June 1, 1999</B> - With only six months to go before
the new millennium begins, many consumers are thinking more about how the
"Y2K problem" may affect businesses they depend on than they are about
potential effects on their home computers.
<P>Take Sara King, for example. A planner for an urban consulting firm in
Portland, Ore., King says she plans to track her banking and financial
records around the new year to ensure no discrepancies occur when the
clock rolls over to the Year 2000. But she admits she hasn't thought about
updating her home PC. "I haven't thought about the implications beyond
money and travel," she said. "I haven't thought about my computer at all.
Does that mean I'm in denial?"
<P>Brandon Griggs, a staff writer for the Salt Lake City Tribune in Utah,
says he will think twice about hopping on a plane the morning of Jan. 1,
2000. But he has yet to consider how Y2K could affect his home computer.
"I have no idea how to Y2K-proof my home computer. I hadn't even thought
about that," he said. "But as a writer, I have a lot of important files on
my hard drive and I would hate to lose them."
<P>Like King and Griggs, few consumers seem to be thinking about how to
prepare their home PCs for the Year 2000. A March Gallup telephone survey
of 1,021 adults found that 28 percent of Americans plan to prepare for the
Y2K issue by stockpiling household supplies such as food and water, and 20
percent plan to have more cash on hand or to closely monitor their
financial records. By comparison, only 4 percent plan to update their home
computers.
<P>"Most consumers are aware of the issue, but they have not really
awakened to what they need to do to update their personal computers," said
Mark Light, Year 2000 Product Manager at Microsoft.
<P>To help people assess and prepare their home PCs for the Year 2000,
Microsoft recently launched a new Y2K Web site specifically aimed at
consumers. The Web site is intended to provide home-PC users with the
simple information they need to assess the Year 2000 readiness of their
home PCs. The site is located at <A
href="http://computingcentral.msn.com/guide/year2000/msy2k/Introducing/y2khome.asp";>http://computingcentral.msn.com/guide/year2000/msy2k/Introducing/y2khome.asp</A>,
together with Microsoft's Y2K site for information technology (IT)
professionals.
<P>The consumer Web site will be translated into nearly 30 languages, just
as the IT Professional Web site is today. It will include an
easy-to-understand product guide that describes how most Microsoft
software applications handle dates, as well as information regarding what
action, if any, consumers need to take to prepare their applications for
the Year 2000. The Web site also allows users to download the "Microsoft
Year 2000 Product Analyzer," , which automatically scans a user's hard
drive and determines what Microsoft products are on the computer. The
product analyzer then generates a report telling users the compliance
status of their system. It also provides online access to Year 2000
software updates, if needed.
<P>For those who prefer to have information mailed to them, Microsoft is
offering a subscription to a free "Year 2000 Resource CD." The CD, which
is available in 14 languages, includes the Microsoft Year 2000 Product
Analyzer. It also includes the necessary Year 2000 updates for Microsoft's
most popular products as well as white papers and other information about
the Year 2000 issue.
<P>"We've designed the new Web site, Resource CD and product analyzer to
make them easy for someone with a non-technical background to use," Light
said. "The idea is to make the experience of updating one's home PC as
simple as possible."
<P>In general, Light said, consumers need to take a three-step approach to
assure themselves that their home PCs will function properly beyond Dec.
31. The process involves assessing their home PCs and possibly updating
their <I>hardware, software</I> and <I>data</I>.
<P>First, consumers should obtain information from their computer
manufacturer to determine if they need to update their hardware.
Microsoft's Year 2000 Web sites provide links to the Hardware PC Alliance,
which serves as a portal to the Web sites of most PC manufacturers. The
key hardware issue is how the computer's real-time clock and BIOS behave
after they roll over to 2000, Light said. In most cases, the computer will
continue to display dates correctly, and consumers will not have to take
action. In some cases, however, users may have to make a one-time clock
update or install an updated BIOS for the computer to continue operating
properly.
<P>Second, consumers need to assess their software, including their
operating system and any applications they use. If not already compliant,
Microsoft has provided software updates to its major products to make them
complaint, so with most products the worst case scenario is that people
will have to install a software update, Light said. "We don't want the
Year 2000 to be a reason to upgrade," he said. "If someone wants to
upgrade their software for functional reasons, that's fine. But we didn't
want the Year 2000 to be the impetus."
<P>Third, consumers need to evaluate their data to ensure files they have
created contain unambiguous dates that will continue to be interpreted
properly after Dec. 31. One thing consumers should do is change the
"regional settings" in their control panel to use a "short-date format"
that displays a four-digit year (mm/dd/yyyy) as opposed to a two-digit
year (mm/dd/yy). "By moving the date format in the regional settings to a
four-digit year, the person will see how the operating system or
application is interpreting the date when they type in a two-date
shortcut," Light said. "For example, if they enter 29 for 1929, they'll
notice if the computer misinterprets the date as 2029, and they'll be able
to say, 'Wait a minute. That isn't what I meant.' "
<P>Furthermore, if home-PC owners have software applications that rely
heavily on dates, they may want to install special tools to ensure these
applications continue to manage dates optimally after the first of the
year. "For Excel, as an example, we offer a Data Fix Wizard, a Data
Migration Wizard and a Data Watch Wizard that essentially let you analyze
spreadsheet dates to make sure the shortcut interpretations are what you
want them to be," Light said.
<P>This three-step approach to assessing and preparing one's home PC for
the Year 2000 is explained on the Y2K Consumer Web site using simple
language. The approach is also outlined in documents included with the Y2K
Resource CD.
<P>To date, Microsoft's Y2K IT Professional Web site has answered most
enterprise questions about the Year 2000 and Microsoft's products. The
launch of the Consumer Y2K Web site is intended to help consumers in just
the same way. For customers without access to the Web, Microsoft offers a
toll free information line at 888-MSFT-Y2K, where people can either
request that information be mailed to them or sign up for the Resource CD.
<P>The implications of ignoring the Y2K problem are not likely to be as
serious for consumers as for businesses, Light said. "Most consumers will
not see problems," he said. "However, if they're running spreadsheets, or
if they have any information that is date sensitive and they care about
it, they need to use the three-step process to assess and prepare their
personal computer's hardware, software and data."
<P>Consumers say they look forward to using Microsoft's Y2K resources to
help them figure out what they need to fix and how to fix it. "It will
probably alert me to things I don't even know about," said King, the
Portland PC owner. "In general, people only prepare for the things they're
aware of, so I'm sure it will be very helpful."
<P>"I think it will be very helpful because I know there are things I need
to address, but I don't have the motivation or skills to address them,"
said Jim Cruise, a research analyst in Richmond, Vt. "A CD is easy to
install, so that should help me assess the problem."
<P>
<CENTER><B><FONT color=#cc0000>More Information
Sources</FONT></B></CENTER>
<UL>
<LI><A
href="http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/press/1999/may99/mayy2kpr.htm";>Press
Release: Microsoft Extends Year 2000 Customer Support With New Programs,
Tools and Information Resources</A>
<LI><A
href="http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/press/1999/mar99/y2ktoolspr.htm";>Microsoft
Announces General Availability of Free Year 2000 Tools</A>
<LI><A
href="http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/features/1999/05-19y2k.htm";>Y2K
Day of Service: Community Rallies to Help Nonprofits Stamp Out the
Millennium Bug</A>
<LI><A
href="http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/features/1999/04-19y2ktest.htm";>Testing
is a Key Component of Microsoft's Y2K Strategy</A>
<LI><A
href="http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/features/1999/03-09y2k.htm";>Microsoft
is Helping Customers Meet the Year 2000 Challenge</A>
<LI><A
href="http://www.microsoft.com/PressPass/features/1999/01-07y2k.htm";>Y2K
Tools and Resources Represent an Expanded Phase of Microsoft's Year 2000
Compliance Program </A>
<LI><A
href="http://computingcentral.msn.com/guide/year2000/msy2k/Introducing/y2khome.asp";>Microsoft
Y2K Consumer Web Site</A> </LI></UL><!--PAGE CONTENT ENDS HERE------------><BR><BR>
<CENTER><FONT size=1><A
href="http://www.microsoft.com/misc/cpyright.htm";>©1999 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use</A>
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</x-html>From ???@??? Fri Jun 04 21:39:02 1999
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Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 21:17:17 -0600
From: "Robert C. Richmond" <rcrich@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Subject: Jim Greening
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I left town a week ago and am now back. I see no messages from Jim
Greening during that time. Hope everything is OK, can someone please
update me?
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