As far as the reality of the technical problems, consider this: Had I not made the Y2K fix to our business control system software at the beginning of the month, our bank registers would not have balanced (we wouldn't have known how much money we had), our inventory reordering would not have worked, our A/R reports would be wrong (we wouldn't have known how much money people owed us) and probably a half dozen other things I can't think of right now. This little bug was serious enough to destroy the operations of our business. We're more fortunate than most businesses in that not only do we possess the complete source code to our business control system but we also possess the expertise to add to, fix or change it. This is pretty unique for a business as small as ours. But, imagine the tens of thousands of companies out there that are between 1 to 100 employees in size. Most of these companies are depending on third-party software makers and consultants to help them. Also, the hardware is a factor in this problem too. Our hardware had to be dealt with as well as our software and throwing big money at the problem isn't always the solution. Again, a lot of these businesses are going to make the wrong decisions or get the wrong advice about how to completely handle this problem. Now, if Microsoft can't fix things right the first time, with their huge staff and budget, what are the chances that all these little businesses are going to pass through without harm? One thing is for sure, it will be less than 100%. Such would not have such an impact but this problem is synchronized and so even a little mishap is magnified by the shear number who will experience problems within roughly the same day. In the last thirty years or so, we've become a highly integrated society. Rarely now does something affect one business without that business affecting another. So, I think we need to wear our seat belts on this one and expect a scary ride, but I don't think the roller coaster is going to jump off the track. Now, April 15th of 2000, that should be "verwy, verwy intowesting" :)

Aaaand, maybe I'm all wrong here although it just seems like banter to backup his last action. Maybe the lacy legacy president is planning on some nuclear fireworks to celebrate the millennium? But oh, if it weren't for that cigar, and that dress! The Serbs would have finished their mission, barely noticed by the American media. Wag the dog? Maybe, I think more like "dupe the dumb". Nobody can prove it but I knew it long before I ever saw the movie. This guy has no scruples. But... he does have screwpoles. Ride'm Billy oh ya... whooz yer dadday?

The one thing the creators left out of the constitution was the creation of a "anti-legislature". This purpose of this fictitious branch of the government would be to continually remove and repeal junk, constricting and corrupted laws which the legislative branch passed! Oh well, I can dream...

Even Jim Allchin of Microsoft (the W2K project leader) admits that W2K is grossly inefficient and infested with bugs, mostly due to this inefficiency. As Microsoft wrenches it hands in the DOJ antitrust case, the obvious guilt of their tactics is becoming painfully apparent to the users of their operating systems. Simply put, the most consistent and unbeatable aggression Microsoft plays against its competitors is to make the feature, function or entire program of a product they "eye", part of their operating system. This has over the years helped to produced an operating system which is catholically obese.

In a simpler age, the operating system was just a "loader". It loaded programs and executed them. Later, it was expanded to manage the execution of programs and manage files. Microsoft has endlessly appended to that definition to become the "Grand Unified Do Everything" computer program.

I know, I'm old fashioned. I still like to see screws, plates, nuts & bolts, it may not be smooth and pretty, but you can fix it and fix it right. Nowadays, the hood is hermetically sealed and the engine is potted! It may run longer with fewer problems, but once the problems begin, keeping it running for a long time is not an option.

In conclusion, I introduce my "BIG TARGET THEORY" which I wrote right when Window's 95 first arrived. Here it is:

There are many things which can take your system out. Viruses, bad hard drive sectors or failing hardware, corrupted cache writes, errant programs, power failed writes, EMI, static, etc. So, think of your Operating system as a target for these types of events. The bigger the target, the better chance it stands of getting hit. Unfortunately when you're talking about an OS, regardless of the size, it only takes one hit (bad bit) to make ruins of your system. While hardware reliability has improved somewhat, the improvement has not kept pace with rate of increase in size of Microsoft's OSs. Introducing.... FATWARE 95! Now with more dll's, larger kernel and more setup files than anything ever before! Window's 95 is competitively sized with HUGE applications - for your added convenience! Never mind that your HUGE application gets hit and doesn't run. With Window's 95, the odds are split that OS will take the hit and "yer whole daymn campewter won't ruhn"!

I hope you've enjoyed this rant, it is one of my favorite things to bitch about:) - LINUX RULES!

Nobody whose goal it is to build a company has a competition friendly plan. So, the question is, at what point should your success become public domain? Because, that's the only way to truly level the playing field that a successful company has ruled in the past. Now, for all the people who think Microsoft deserves to be the monopoly it has become because they build "great products" for great prices, let me say this: most people who like microsoft products have not tried other products, especially when the market was fairer to Microsoft's competition. These people just love what computers can do and Microsoft is mostly the only thing they know. That is not to say that Microsoft doesn't have good products. They do have some fine products. However, many of their products "features" and "innovations" were not Microsoft's and came from their competitors who they have long since been crushed one way or another.

What is the problem? The problem is that Microsoft controls, and to their advantage, the ingredient that programs need to economically run - the operating system (nowadays know as WindowsXX). So, Microsoft can easily make their competition look bad by adding secret features that the competition doesn't know about or handling their own bugs that competition doesn't know about or by changing their products way in advance of planned changes to their operating system way before their competition can react. Is it fair? No, but it is business. The problem is that like power, food and other public necessities, some things shouldn't be allowed to be so monopolized. This is why LINUX (the free and public operating system) is gaining such strength so rapidly. The few left standing competitors of Microsoft now realize that the best protection is to move to an operating system which nobody owns and nobody can own, namely, LINUX. I think the only fair way out for Microsoft and the industry, if Microsoft is to remain the standard for operating systems, is to force Microsoft to make the operating system source code public.

As for me, I don't swallow.

• Number one, it HAS been scientifically proven (years ago) that sufficient microwave energy can damage organic and thus genetic material.
• Number two, it HAS been scientifically proven that damaged DNA can cause cancerous tumors.

• Is the energy which a cell phone produces "sufficient" to cause organic damage?
• Is the frequency of the energy which a cell phone produces considered biologically effective microwave energy?
• If the first two questions are true, what kind of exposure density is required to produce a measurable effect of biological impact above the baseline error level?

However, I must say that since the early 70's, the ambient level of radio and microwave radiation in an urban area has risen dramatically and the cumulative effects of this maybe something to inspect.

Now for my political ranting... You know exactly where this is headed don't you? DOW Corning never had scientific evidence proving they were liable for cancer from their breast implants. Yet, crucified they were. Witch hunts never go away, they just change the face of the witch. And this dovetails nicely into my rant from 10/11 below!

When you have control over the media like the liberals (Clintons) do, you can continually tell people things are great and they'll believe it until they die of hunger. Bill Clinton was the wrong man at the right time to take credit for the economy and not take the responsibility and duty of protecting its bounty for the generations to come (see rant 9/23). Now we have several generations who think that roofs, jobs and cars are entitlements, food is free, home is a place to trash and life is about what you can thrash. And, those with compassion and children are willing to sell their freedom to the monster in return for a gush of restricting but "comforting laws".

Well, the "reality bites" generations are about to get an overdose of reality. And, thanks to the planning, foresight, self control, diligence and honesty of Clinton administration and all their cattle, a lot of people will go into reality shock! But, don't worry - be happy!

Paranoia (FUD is the Microsoft version) is the tool of choice used by the malignant parts of our legal system to spur short sighted, frame based decisions and legislation which is slowly but surely confining us all. I can't understand how the people involved in the lawsuits against Colt can, in their conscience, justify such an abstract assignment of guilt.

Truth: "Guns don't kill people. Bullets do." If colt is liable for the wrongful deaths, why not sue the bullet makers who made or reloaded the rounds that actually struck the victims? Another truth: Guns don't aim themselves and pull their triggers, people do, or well trained monkeys. Why not sue the idiots who actually committed the crimes? Oh, they don't have any money, I, I, mean they're dead.

So their you have it America! Welcome to the New Justice 2000 paradigm:If you have money, you're guilty. And, if you're guilty but you have money, you're innocent! OJ anyone? For more of my Gun ramblings, see Rant 9/16.

A prime example of this is the change in RAM prices lately. Technology Associates just about 2 months ago was selling 128MB SDRAM for just $95 at standard margin. Today it is forced to sell the same 128MB SDRAM for $290 at just $10 over cost! We can't afford to sell all computer components at just $10 over cost. But, at this time, RAM is so disproportionately priced that we have no choice. However, we are seeing the effects of the electronics cost and shortage quickly manifested in pricing and availability of major computer components now! Even sound cards and modems are increasingly harder to find and costs are going up! Will they come down soon? My prediction would be "yes" under normal circumstances, but I don't consider the coming of Y2K, change in presidential corrupter... I, I mean leadership, dynamic weather patterns, explosion of the internet, explosion of US prisons, depletion of US based production, senseless stock market values, accelerated loss of constitutional rights, postal rage, retroactive tax policies, expanded policing policies or confusing 5 pounds of uranium with 35 pounds, a normal circumstance.