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Tech industry Consumers benefit from PC maker's Y2K co-op By Erik J. Martin President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin did it. The ex-members of the Beatles did it. General Motors and Toyota are doing it. Now, even the bitterly competitive major computer manufacturers are uniting for the betterment of mankind. Their cause? To rid the world of that terrible scourge of the 21st century, the millennium bug. IBM, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Fujitsu, Compaq, Gateway, Toshiba, Acer, America Information Systems, Phoenix and AMI have banded together to create the PC Y2K Alliance and a special Web site ( www.pcy2000.org ) that provides consistent, easy-to-understand information on what the Y2K problem is and how to fix it. Microsoft, Intel, National Software Testing Laboratories (NSTL) and Symantec have also thrown in their support by cooperating with the Alliance and agreeing with its standards. What's the big deal, you say? In the grand scope of all things Y2K, not much, especially considering that January 1 looms less than seven months away. The consortium and its site doesn't provide some magical "press this button" quick-fix solution to all of your computer's potential Year 2000 glitches. You still have to test and fix any bugs yourself, and possibly shell out more greenbacks for software upgrades, or worse, an entirely new PC if yours is older than, say, the Macarena craze. But consider this: It's not every day that you see competitors in the cutthroat corporate world join forces for anything. And anytime you can get instantaneous, free solutions to PC problems and not have to wait on hold for eons to talk to a soulless technical support drone is a coup for consumers. At worst, the Alliance's efforts provide a one-stop cyberspace address to answer most of your questions on the Y2K problem. FAQs, as well as a set of Y2K-compliance standards, are there for the browsing. At best, the site can teach you how to test and correct the snafus yourself (three helpful tests are described in the testing section) and contact your PC and software manufacturers (PC Alliance members have links directly to their Web sites in the Hardware Compliance and Software Compliance sections) for Y2K patches and upgrades. For what it's worth, you'll also enjoy the peace of mind of knowing that the major players in the PC market are all on the same page in endorsing this information. And, in true democratic fashion, the public is even invited to comment on the Alliance’s carefully drafted "Y2K Personal Computer Compliance Specification." Your feedback may help revise the definition if the Alliance deems that amendments to it are necessary. As it currently stands, the specification defines two levels of PC hardware readiness: operational or compliant. "Compliant" means that the computer's BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) services will correctly and automatically "return to the appropriate century as the date advances from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000." "Operational" PCs require a one-time update (to be performed manually by the user) to become Y2K compliant. "D'uh," you say? That's better than saying a Homer Simpson-esque "D'oh!" when you try to boot up that defunct digital dinosaur of a PC on New Year's Day, I contend. But wait - there's more good news on the Y2K freebie front. Microsoft is galloping toward the year 2000 like Paul Revere shouting out "The millennium bug is coming! The millennium bug is coming!" The software king is launching a new and improved consumer Year 2000 Web site, an enhanced Y2K resource CD-ROM, and extended product support to make everybody forget about nasty antitrust headlines and big, bad Bill Gates. Of particular benefit to Windows users is the CD-ROM, which provides Y2K updates for Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.0 operating systems, as well as updates for Office 95 and 97 and Works 4.5a products. The Year 2000 Product Analyzer, included on the CD-ROM, lets you test your system offline. The program scans your hard drive and produces a Y2K-compliance report. Get one of these free CD-ROMs sent to you every quarter by visiting Microsoft's consumer Y2K Web site ( www.microsoft.com/y2k ) or by calling 888-MSFT-Y2K. What's more, if you own Microsoft's Exchange, Internet Explorer, Office, Small Business Server, SQL Server or any Windows OS, your Y2K policy support is automatically extended through January 1, 2001. Scoff if you must, 21st century skeptic, at the industry's last minute public-geared Y2K efforts. Better late than never, I say. In a world where almost everything comes at a price, why not take advantage of something free? Now, if only we could get the Beatles to reunite for a free Y2K concert . . . 1999 Thomson Target Media Erik J. Martin is a freelance journalist who has penned a regular multimedia column for Screen Magazine and has written for a variety of other publications, including the Chicago Tribune, Coverstory and The X-Files Official Magazine. He lives in Oak Lawn, Illinois, with his wife, son, and the Millennium Bug, which he is still trying to exterminate from his PC. Certainly no self-proclaimed technowhiz, Erik prides himself on being "an average guy with the same concerns and questions about Y2K as everyone else. My job? To get answers to those questions, and pass them along to you." Techno file index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA