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Everything You Wanted to Know About Y2K

Some interesting facts about the millennium bug and what's been done to fix it.

By Computerworld   

* Y2K costs will reach $75 billion, predicted Peter de Jager in the September 16, 1993, issue of Computerworld.

* Y2K repair costs will reach at least $100 billion and may go as high as $114 billion--$365 for every man, woman, and child in the U.S.--reported the U.S. Department of Commerce in November 1999.

* The estimated worldwide cost of fixing the Y2K bug, according to analysts: Cap Gemini America--$858 billion; Gartner Group--$600 billion; International Data Corporation--$300 billion.

Natural and Unnatural Disasters

Comparing the cost of Y2K fixes with the costs of various natural disasters:

* Hurricane Floyd caused infrastructure losses of $82.4 million, insured losses of $50 million, and other losses of about $2 million, officials said, according to a November 30, 1999, Reuters report.

* Initial estimates on the Turkish earthquake suggest it will cost $8 billion to repair the quake's damage, reported the International Herald Tribune on December 2, 1999.

It's Off to Work We Go (and Stay)

* Y2K projects caused changes in vacation policies at 43% of 150 large companies, with 97% restricting December and January vacations. Yet 40% weren't planning to reward information technology staff with money or time off, according to an August 1999 Computerworld survey.

* Westergaard.com reported that only 75% of federal mission-critical systems would be finished by January 1.

* The White House's Y2K Information Coordination Center cost $50 million and was staffed with 200 federal workers.

* 40% of small businesses have done nothing about Y2K, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

* Testing catches 30% of Y2K bugs, while independent validation and verification catches another 40% to 45%, reported a study by SriSoft.

* How many people were needed to fix Y2K? IBM reckoned that the average large company will spend up to 400 man-years on the problem.

Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Bug?

* A December poll of 1011 adults conducted by USA Today and the National Science Foundation found that just 7% of Americans said they expected major problems to result from Y2K mistakes, while 55% said they believed the effects will last only a few days. Forty-two percent, a slight rise from previous polls, planned to stockpile food and water; 21% planned to withdraw some money from their accounts; 34% (down from 63% a year ago) expected banking and accounting systems to fail; and 51% planned to avoid air travel on or around January 1.

* A November poll of 400 adults released by Hibernia National Bank in New Orleans found that only 7% of Americans were "very concerned" about Y2K and that only 11% of consumer and 8% of commercial bank customers planned to withdraw extra cash.

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