Free Essays on Y2K

Today, well into the third second year of the 21st century, many businesses and governments are breathing a sigh of relief that the millennium has passed without any of the predicted 'Y2K' disasters - planes falling out of the sky, ice boxes and other household gismos going wild , the whole economy coming to a screeching halt, etc. The businesses and governments worldwide had spent billions of dollars and tens of thousands of man-hours trying to ensure 'Y2K' compliance. The press and "experts" of academia took their age-old COBOL bashing to a new height and intensity and created the 'Y2K crisis'. COBOL was made out to be the mother of all evils in the computer world. Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, the first female admiral of the US Navy, was the mother of COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language). COBOL was 'invented' out of her Flow-Matic program, which was developed by her to teach computers plain English commands. The Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASYL) was set up under the DOD sponsorship. On May 28, 1959, the University of Pennsylvania. The first meeting was convened by Admiral Hooper representing the Department of Defense (DOD). CODASYL was made of independent language experts and information technology technicians from commercial-industry, finance, manufacturing, retail, computer software vendors, government, and academia. Its main mission was to correct a deficiency of computer language standards in the field and to formulate a common business programming language. The initial specifications for COBOL were presented by CODASYL in April of 1960. It was designed to be a business language that was problem oriented and machine independent. COBOL was designed for continuous changes and development. COBOL was an effort to make a programming language that was like natural English, easy to write and easier to read so that even the user can read the source and see exactly what the computer is doing or supposed to do. An i... Free Essays on Y2K Free Essays on Y2K Today, well into the third second year of the 21st century, many businesses and governments are breathing a sigh of relief that the millennium has passed without any of the predicted 'Y2K' disasters - planes falling out of the sky, ice boxes and other household gismos going wild , the whole economy coming to a screeching halt, etc. The businesses and governments worldwide had spent billions of dollars and tens of thousands of man-hours trying to ensure 'Y2K' compliance. The press and "experts" of academia took their age-old COBOL bashing to a new height and intensity and created the 'Y2K crisis'. COBOL was made out to be the mother of all evils in the computer world. Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, the first female admiral of the US Navy, was the mother of COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language). COBOL was 'invented' out of her Flow-Matic program, which was developed by her to teach computers plain English commands. The Conference on Data Systems Languages (CODASYL) was set up under the DOD sponsorship. On May 28, 1959, the University of Pennsylvania. The first meeting was convened by Admiral Hooper representing the Department of Defense (DOD). CODASYL was made of independent language experts and information technology technicians from commercial-industry, finance, manufacturing, retail, computer software vendors, government, and academia. Its main mission was to correct a deficiency of computer language standards in the field and to formulate a common business programming language. The initial specifications for COBOL were presented by CODASYL in April of 1960. It was designed to be a business language that was problem oriented and machine independent. COBOL was designed for continuous changes and development. COBOL was an effort to make a programming language that was like natural English, easy to write and easier to read so that even the user can read the source and see exactly what the computer is doing or supposed to do. An i... Free Essays on Y2K CHAPTER 1 Introduction The year 2000 computer issue is defined by Zetlin (1998) as â€Å"the result of a universal programming standard that records dates as six digits rather than eight, using only two digits for the year. Software that uses two-digit year fields (that is, almost all of it) will understand the year 2000 as â€Å"00† if the problem is not corrected in time† (pg. 1). The medical industry as a whole will approach year 2000 with months of new system implementations and developing contingency plans to deal with problems associated with Y2K. Medical manufacturers must pay close attention to the way medical facilities plan for Y2K. The variances in facilities ordering patterns due to Y2K could affect the medical manufacturers forecasts and inventory levels leading to a shortage of supplies. Also computer system compliance issues could result in loss of medical records or critical medical equipment failure. Manufacturers typically use historical usage to forecast for the coming year. However, with potential changes in ordering patterns, some adjustments may be necessary to meet customers’ needs. In addition, computer systems must be Y2K compliant to ensure Electronic Data Interface (EDI) which is used to exchanges computer data will function properly and patients health will not be at risk. For the purpose of this study, I have created a ficticious medical supply manufacturer, Equiptek Industries, which will be located in the eastern part of the United States. Background Medical facilities across the United States are concerned with critical date sensitive medical devices and products availability as January 1, 2000 approaches. Hospital concerns include issues such as the scheduling of elective procedures and supply issues with manufactures. Elective procedures are medical procedures that are non-emergency and can, if necessary, be postponed. Laura Bruce (1999) states â€Å"Have extra staff on hand and don...