| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : JANUARY 25, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
| ||||||||
 | ||||||||
| UP FRONT
Microsoft (MSFT) Didn't Swat All the Y2K Bugs THAT DARN MILLENNIUM BUG. It's catching, and now it's bugging Microsoft, too. The company's Windows 98 software was promoted months ago as being ''Y2K bug free.'' Apparently it is not. Says Don Jones, Microsoft's Y2K specialist, ''Microsoft, during testing, has identified minor Y2K issues'' and ''is making a Windows 98 Year 2000 Update available immediately that customers can download or order on CD.'' Jones says the bug could wrongly display some dates and times on occasion, but won't destroy any data. Bill Gates isn't alone. Lou Marcoccio, chief Y2K researcher at Gartner Group (GART), a tech think tank, says 83% of current off-the-shelf software may have Y2K glitches, down from 89% a year ago: ''It's getting better, but that's still a lot of programs.'' A clever new ad on Apple Computer's (AAPL) Web site tweaks errant software writers in a parody starring HAL, the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey. ''Dave, do you remember the Year 2000, when computers began to misbehave?'' HAL asks. Apple is apparently bug-free, Marcoccio says. But, he adds, not all companies are forthcoming about Y2K: ''Some manufacturers don't know--or aren't telling.'' By Marcia Stepanek EDITED BY ROBERT McNATT _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
|  |
 | |
INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
