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 The Year 2000 Problem is better known than the Year 1999 Problem. You have less time than you think. 
 
A CNN Financial News report (June 17, 1997) reported that mainframe programmers used a shorthand entry -- 999999 -- to indicate the end of a project. This means that on Sept. 9, 1999, computers so programmed will shut down. 
 
An employee of CMG, a European computer firm, assured the FINANCIAL TIMES that the problem is not difficult to correct. It needs to be recognized. 
 
My view: happy-face estimates must be judged in advance by people whose lives depend on such estimates. 
 
The FINANCIAL TIMES story was posted on: 
 
http://www.ft.com/hippocampus/6d9fe.htm 
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