Article 2, The Shopper's Weekly
The dreaded date continues to loom on the horizon. How did we ever get ourselves into this pending problem? Better yet, what do we do? I enjoy looking at the past since it will help us to keep the future in balance.
I had a grandmother, who told me the story of when she first saw an electric light bulb. She traveled to Denver with her mother about 90 years ago to attend a church meeting. They arrived late, checked into a hotel and proceeded to their room. In the middle of the room was a bulb hanging by a wire that was shinning brightly. After getting ready for bed they could not figure out how to turn the bulb off. They had little experience with this new item of modern technology. Some debate ensued and a conclusion was reached. Empty a suitcase, place it around the bulb and then close it! The results: no light! To this day I do not know why that hotel did not burn down!
My grandmother and her family had a working solution for a problem. Not the best but it did work. Today I want to approach the Y2K problem with some workable solutions for you.
You have a personal computer that you may do some office work on or keep track of you bills, bank accounts, and maybe a home inventory. What do you do as you prepare for the change over on Jan 1, 2000. This is a legitimate concern and there are some simple solutions for you.
You need to check to see if the computer will switch the dates automatically on Dec. 31, 1999 at midnight to Jan. 1, 2000. This can be done in several ways. If you are connected to the Internet you can go to several sites and download a program that will check for you. One that you might try is www.hotfiles.zdnet.com This site has several programs for you to use: Y2K Crash Test V3.4 or Y2K Test (Windows) V1.14. as examples.
A better solution is to take your computer to a qualified diagnostic center such as "The Electronic Village" and have test performed on the unit. This is the easiest and some businesses, as we do at "The Electronic Village," will perform this service for free. Plan on leaving the computer for a couple of days so the staff can fit it into their schedule. You don't need to bring the whole system either, just the CPU (Central Processing Unity).
The results of the test will tell you one of three things: 1) The computer will not change and can't be changed. This computer has seen its day and it is time to plan on another one. 2) The computer will not change automatically but a new date and year can be entered manually on Jan 1, 2000. That is a simple process and the testers should inform you how to do this procedure. 3) The computer will change automatically and there is nothing to be concerned about when you turn it on after the first of the year.
Consider the following when you take the computer for testing. You want a reputable dealer who will give you a print out that the software will generate when it checks your computer. Also find a dealer who has some sort of certification such as "Microsoft Certified Solution Provider". Certification by a national corporation will show that the company is on the cutting edge and staying abreast of new technology.
The Y2K solution is not difficult. All we have to do is to learn to "turn the light off..correctly!"
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