| Kuro-kuro Ko Lamang |
by: Rtn.
Chuck Montecillo
The turn of the
century is just around the corner. In the air is
millenium fever. Anything from visions of
grandeur to the most vicious and fatalistic
forecasts can be heard from people all around.
Many companies are using the year 2000 as a
marketing vehicle. Even our award winning
publication has adopted the idea of the future
being now (I know, it was my idea... I couldn't
help it). If the M&M's can do it, why not us?
It's funny that amidst all the technological
advancements that have been made in personal
computing over the past 20 years, that we now
have to deal with the millenium bug. With so much
foresight and imagination about how the future
was to be shaped, engineers FAILED to take in to
account the year 2000. I guess things just moved
too fast for them to realize it until it was too
late. So much for forward thinking.
Designing the future has never been an easy task.
There are millions of decisions that need to be
made, all interconnected in one way or another.
Take our publication for example. Those who
contribute articles can send me their work via
email or fax. Sometimes, I am handed the had copy
during our weekly meetings. I then turn these
hard copies in to digital files. Once I do the
layout and editing, I forward these files to our
printer, Graphics Works. Ususally, I
"Zip" (a compression format that saves
on file sizes) the files to minimize the
transmission time via email. Unfortunately,
Graphics Works didn't have the updated version of
Winzip, the software needed to extract the files.
Nice idea, but the chain was quickly broken by
the incompatibility of the software. Now, I have
to wade through traffic to get the diskettes to
Mr. Lizares or vice versa, just to make the
deadline.
The millenium bug became a formidable hurdle in
our society because of the phenomenal growth of
computerization. The world became automated
before we even knew how to use everything. Then,
one day, we realized that when the year 2000
comes, we may have a problem.
Knowing this, we all should take a look at the
millenium bug and check to see if there are any
"weak links" in the chain. Suppiliers,
end users, your servers, clients all should be
compatible. All it takes is ONE weak link and
your company can stand to lose lots of time and
money.
The problem I deal with on a weekly basis is
small. It's not even related to the millenium
bug, but, it does cost me time and money just the
same. Now, imagine this on a global scale...
that's millions of man hours and resources wasted
on just one weak link.
How strong is your chain? |
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