Here is a sampling of the e-mail we received regarding Y2K.
"I read some of the email you've received and can't believe how extreme some
people can be. Preparing for any disaster is a wonderful thing for everyone
to do and if more people are preparing because of Y2K, oh well. It's better
to be proactive, instead of reactive."
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"This y2k
thing will be a disaster if people don't start making back-up plans, and it is
the media's job to let people know this. People will listen to mainstream news.
Please help Utah get prepared for this. We can't bury our heads in the sand and
hope it's o.k."
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"I work in the travel industry, and according to our
suppliers, there are now updates for most if not all computer systems
within the system for Y2K compatibility. I can at this very date book
airline reservations into the year 2000. Furthermore, do you really
think that credit card companies would extend credit into the new
millenium if they thought they couldn't track the cards properly?"
"Be
prepared for a few glitches in the computer system at the beginning of
the new year, but please don't let your imagination run away with you.
Prepare for disaster, not because of the Y2K problem, but because mother
nature likes to play tricks. An earthquake is a more likely reason to
need food storage and emergency kits."
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"The world will not
self-destruct, nothing major will happen. Elevators may return to the basement,
but other than that, human foolishness may cause our downfall. It's a
self-fulfilling prophecy--we all think that major problems will occur, but we
instead will cause them ourselves. Society needs to get a grip on this
situation."
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"If you the media are really so concerned about the y2k how come no one has got with Bill Gates and asked him just how serious this problem is? You are driving this issue into the ground and I'm sick of hearing about it!"
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"Since a computer can't think, worry, rationalize,etc. how
does it know that turning the clock back 100 years isn't the
way things work anyway, and continue to work (with the wrong
date 'in mind')?"
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"I have done a lot of work on this problem with the government and on my own.
What I and many others see as the real problem is not the computers crashing
and grids going out, it's how we all approach the problem. If we all keep
our heads glued on, any problems will be easily overcome and it will be as
if nothing at all happened."
"This guy that quit his nice job and moved west is seriously overacting and
it is people like him that we need to avoid..."
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"I doubt the computer problems will be as catastrophic as some people claim.
The actual computer problems will be worked out. It's peoples' fear that
will cause the major problems."
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"As an officer with a local bank, I would appreciate it if 'you' the
media would stop fueling the fire over Y2K! You are creating upset
with some of our older clients, and people that are not well versed in
computers."
"No one knows exactly what will happen, but
I have enough faith in our computer industry that they will prepare us
as best they can!"
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"I think that the only problem will be that people will withdrawl large
sums of money from both bank accounts and the stock market. And that
will be our biggest problem. Our stock market will crash for 2 days
and well be up and going again. I think that there is nothing to
worry about."
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"My suggestion is to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. And for heaven's
sake, research it for yourself and don't rely on second hand
information!"
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"I think all the media coverage on the subject creates intense paranoia in the minds of the millions of people who don't know anything about computers. If there is a big problem, what, do we become stupid? It doesn't seem that difficult to me."
"I don't think there will be many problems. I believe we, humans, are smart enough to overcome any temporary inconvenience that may arise. I think we should have an outlook of optimism and excitement just like they did one hundred years ago."
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"I don't think anything will happen. Everyone is trying to scare us."
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"It seems like every few years something comes along that makes the public
think the end is coming. Is this another one of those things? I'm sure that
some things will stop, turn off or whatever, but what good is it going to do
to sit and worry about it? Stephen King should write a book about this."
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"Y2K Myth! The greatest problem that exist from the so called Y2K issue will be the
result of all the publicity that is being given to the issue. As a
result, many unknowing individuals who believe all that is being said,
concerning Y2K... may panic and take
actions that may cause major problems."
"As a professional electronics engineer of almost 40 years, I can state
that all this hoopla over computer software not being able to
distinguish the difference between the year 2000 and 1900 is being blown
way out of proportion."
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"We are too intelligent to let Y2K be a problem for too
long. Whatever goes down in the United States will be back up and running
very quickly. So even if there are a lot of things going down, I can't
imagine things being bad for longer than a week or two, worst case scenerio."
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"I am a computer professional with over 12 years experience. I manage
software development projects. I believe that this issue will ALL
boil down to responsible reporting and coverage of this complex
issue. I have looked at the technical issues and I see that the
problem is real, but the consequences will be minor inconveniences,
at worst!"
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"Working with the Y2K issues, I have came to the conclusion that most of the
problems that are going to occur at the beginning of the year 2000, are going
to be caused by the worry warts, dooms-sayers, and the like."
"It only takes a small percentage of the people to panic, to cause
problems for all of us. It starts the 'Domino effect.'"
"It would be a lot better to just sit back and let it come and go. It is a
deadline that can't be changed. A lot of people are working hard to ensure
that the predicted problems do not occur. Help us all, by not panicking."
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"My opinion regarding Y2K is that there will be numerous disruptions around
the world, but for us in America the problems will be easy to deal with or no
problem at all. I think there will be major problems later on in the year
2000 when the rest of the world has to deal with all the third world
countries not well prepared for this crisis."
"I think the economy will be hurt worldwide as a result of y2k from the international stand point. I
think all the food supplies that Utahns are stocking up on will be useful
when food prices soar in July and August of 2000."
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"Personally, I am surprised that you are doing a report and not getting all
the necessary information on computer programming. The real date that will
start to effect a lot of programs will be September 9, 1999 or 9/9/99. (It) can signify end of field, end of data, or erase
tape. Most programs will either stop running because they have reached the
end of the data set or they will erase all previous information and restart
the program, or erase all information."
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"Yes, Y2K is a problem. But I believe that many people like to place
others in a 'panic' of some sort. This panic brings about 'money' to
someone's pocket. It all comes down to the mighty dollar!"
"Of course, it doesn't hurt to be prepared--if you are you have nothing
to fear!"
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