| ISMagazine.com | Y2K |
June, 1999 |
NEW YORK, May 10, 1999 -- Nine of the world's leading PC manufacturers and technology suppliers today announced several resources aimed at clarifying hardware issues for PC users surrounding the coming century change. Called the PC Y2000 Alliance, the group seeks to help end users by describing Year 2000 (Y2K) PC hardware compliance in everyday language, as well as providing a suggested Y2K roadmap for system compliance which includes software and data.
The Alliance is comprised of Acer, American Megatrends, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Phoenix Technologies and Toshiba. ClickNet, Intel, Microsoft, NSTL and Symantec also support this effort. With the cooperation of these additional companies, the group's efforts - including a web-based resource to assist users and a PC hardware specification covering two levels of Year 2000 hardware readiness - are supported by the mainstream of the personal computer industry.
"Uniting the industry around a central information resource is a critical move," said Rob Enderle, Vice President and Industry Analyst for the Giga Information Group. "Many small business and individual PC users continue to be confused about what they need to do to make sure their systems are ready for the new millennium. This Web resource is really the only practical way that the PC industry can render assistance to the millions of PC users around the globe."
To help end users learn more about Year 2000 compliance issues and assist them in determining the readiness of their PC hardware, the Alliance created a Y2K specific web site at www.pcy2000.org. The site provides information about the Year 2000 PC issue, step by step instructions for checking Y2K PC hardware compliance, links to other Year 2000 web sites -- including those of Alliance members, supporters and hardware test providers, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Y2K. The Alliance's Year 2000 Personal Computer Platform Compliance Specification 1.0, a technical document detailing Y2K compliance is also available on the site.
"Achieving Year 2000 readiness in a computing system is a process which encompasses hardware, software, and data," says Mark Light, Corporate Year 2000 Product Manager at Microsoft. "The PCY2000 Alliance has just made the hardware portion of that process simpler. With broad cooperation, the Alliance has defined hardware compliance and provided help to users via the new Web site. This Web portal provides the information, assessment, and remediation tools needed to achieve Year 2000 hardware readiness."
The member companies have been individually addressing Year 2000 issues for several years. This cooperative effort was encouraged by the recent passage of the federal Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act in the fall of 1998. The information contained on the Alliance Web site and in the specification is a compilation of selected portions of individual member Year 2000 PC readiness policies and procedures, with some standardization of terminology. No additional Year 2000 hardware compliance testing should be necessary for any individual or company that has implemented a Year 2000 compliance program based on an individual Alliance member's recommendations.
About the Specification
The cornerstone of the Alliance's effort is The Year 2000 Personal Computer Compliance Specification, which is currently in version 1.0. It is open to public comment for 30 days and feedback on the specification can be sent to the Alliance through www.pcy2000.org. The Alliance will consider all comments submitted within this 30-day period and will amend the specification if necessary. A final version will be posted on the Alliance Web site and members Year 2000 Web sites in mid June.
