-Caveat Lector- FAA To Test Computers for Y2K Bug By GLEN JOHNSON .c The Associated Press DENVER (AP) -- Airline executives, government officials and air traffic controllers waited expectantly Saturday for the outcome of Federal Aviation Administration Year 2000 computer tests. The live four-hour tests at Denver International Airport, scheduled to end Sunday at 2 a.m. MDT (4 a.m. EDT), were aimed partially at boosting public confidence in the nation's computerized aviation system when the century changes at midnight Dec. 31. Some travelers have sworn off flying that night, fearing that planes may collide or fall out of the sky on Jan. 1, 2000, because of computer glitches. Because of a programming technique used in early computers, some software views years in two-digit format, such as ``99'' for 1999. There is widespread uneasiness that unless software is patched or rewritten, computers will malfunction when the century ends and the calendar changes from ``99'' to ``00,'' which the two-digit computers may interpret as 1900 instead of 2000. FAA officials think they have eliminated any potential problems through software changes made to computers which track planes from takeoff to landing. ``We're very confident the test will be successful, because we have done some dry runs on it,'' said Ray Long, head of the FAA's Y2K program. Among those who planned to observe the tests were FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, officials of the major airlines' trade organization and the largest air traffic controllers union and representatives of aerospace manufacturers. The union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, is urging the FAA to schedule extra workers, develop a written emergency procedures manual, stockpile battery-operated radios and expand normal safety margins around airplanes as the clock ticks toward midnight Dec. 31. Some of those elements are already part of agency contingency plans. The tests were being conducted during the midnight hours to minimize any risk to the flying public. Unicom's ComEd Y2K Test Proves Successful, Chicago Papers Say Chicago, April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Unicom Corp.'s Commonwealth Edison Co. said a test that faked shutting down the utility's voice and data communications went well and electric operations continued, the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune reported. Commonwealth Edison, a unit of Chicago-based Unicom Corp., was participating in a nationwide test yesterday of utilities' ability to handle Year 2000 computer-related systems failures. Commonwealth Edison has been readying for potential Y2K problems for several years by upgrading software and developing contingency plans, the Sun-Times said. Commonwealth Edison has 3.4 million electric customers in northern Illinois. Power Plants Drilled for Y2K By S. MITRA KALITA .c The Associated Press TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- The electric power industry says a much-hyped test of its readiness for the Year 2000 bug was a success. But skeptics still wonder if the New Year will dawn in darkness. The problem, critics say, is that Friday's drill didn't tell consumers anything about whether power will keep flowing to their switches in the event of massive computer glitches. ``They've been planning this drill since the beginning of the year,'' said Randy Guidry, managing editor of Y2K News Magazine. ``I would compare it to a student in high school taking a test after he's had three months to make up the questions on the test.'' Power plants across the country shared information via radio rather than computer Friday to test whether they could keep the lights on even if the Y2K bug knocks out communications. The nation's power grids depend on communications between generating stations so that operators can send electricity to regions that need it the most from power plants able to provide it. Workers at hundreds of sites called in meter readings via handheld radios and logged in data manually, rather than using computers hooked together via fiber-optic lines and microwave transmitters. ``People just flick a switch and expect their power to go on, but it's important to ensure that the grid is reliable and communications are a piece of that,'' said Tom Williams, spokesman for Duke Energy Power Services, which has three plants in California. The drill was a success, according to a news release posted on the Web site of the North American Electric Reliability Council, a New Jersey-based industry group assigned by the U.S. Department of Energy to make sure the nation's utilities are ready for the new millennium. However, the council said some backup systems did not work as planned and some workers may require additional training on the satellite voice systems. The group also said severe lightning storms in the Midwest interfered with some radio systems. Representatives of the council would not comment on the tests Friday. Utility customers weren't affected because the drill did not test electricity production. And that's what concerns observers like Guidry. ``Today doesn't have anything to do with the ability to produce energy,'' he said. ``It has to do with their ability to talk to each other.'' The Y2K problem occurs because many computers are programmed to recognize only the last two digits of a year and, without repairs, may malfunction beginning Jan. 1 when they might assume it is 1900. Some fear national communication and power systems could be disrupted. NERC's job is to help make sure electrical utilities are ready for the possibility of a Y2K glitch and spotty outages or -- a worse-case scenario -- complete electricity shutdowns. ``The loonies out there who are profiting by panic over Y2K may not have it quite right,'' said John Castagna, a spokesman for the Washington-based Edison Electric Institute, an industry group whose members generate about three-quarters of the country's electricity. ``We're working hard to make sure January 1, 2000, is just like every other day.'' Rick Cowles, author of ``Electric Utilities and Y2K,'' praised the communications drill. But he said there is no way to replicate the conditions plants may encounter on Jan. 1. ``Testing a portion of the entire Y2K program is part of the contingency planning,'' he said. ``But this is a drill -- a drill that's not operationally testing anything. There's no way to test absolutely everything.'' DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
