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	What Y2K Could, Um, Maybe Mean To You By Solveig Singleton January 25, 1999 This is the book that introduced thousands of readers to Y2K. The Yourdons' Time Bomb 2000: What the Year 2000 Computer Crisis Means to You is now available in an updated edition for 1999, but the basic text, written in 1997, supplies the core content. (Ed Yourdon is a respected mainframe programmer and dean of the software engineering world; his co-author Jennifer works in finance circles in New York City.) When the father-daughter duo set out to write about Y2K, they decided their focus should not be about how to prepare, but why to prepare and what disruptions to expect. For each subject area (Food, Transportation, etc.) the book constructs plausible -- if speculative -- scenarios of a two- or three-day disruption, a month-long disruption, a one-year disruption, and a ten-year disruption. You get to decide which you think is most likely to happen. This kind of hands-thrown-up-in-the-air speculation can be frustrating. But realistically, at the time the book was written (and even today), there's no escaping uncertainty. As the Yourdons emphasize, they don't know what is going to happen. They cautiously predict that most Y2K failures will cause problems for two or three days; about a third could cause problems for a about a month, and five or ten percent could cause problems for a year or more. Early in 1999, do we know enough to reject some of the more far-out scenarios? After all, rumors of Y2K failures in cars or fire engines have been laid to rest. There has been good news about test results from Wall Street -- but not enough testing of interconnected systems. And the lack of preparedness of many foreign countries introduces an unavoidable wildcard into the equation. Yourdon also has been accused of exaggerating the time it takes to debug Y2K code -- it might not take as long as it would to install a new system. But there's no doubt many municipal governments are lagging far behind and military projects are coming in behind deadline. What we found particularly disturbing is that many of the questions that the book raises about the readiness of the electric power grid and other key infrastructures, especially shipping, are still unanswered. We only know company and government officials are working on the problem. You'll find this book (Prentice Hall, $19.95) to be a cogent introduction to the problem that will get even a skeptic thinking. But be prepared to think for yourself and consider recent evidence as well.		FEATURES Book Reviews Y2K already has spawned its own genre. We tell you what books are worth buying. Chip 'n Little Cartoons Chip 'n Little goes on TV Chip 'n Little visits John Koskinen Chip 'n Little saves the world Warning: This cartoon has been called "foolish and tasteless." Y2K from A to Z Y2K Haiku Traditionalists may be shocked. Mad Cow Culture What does Y2K have in common with today's Mad Cow Culture? Answer: Everything. Declan McCullagh's Y2K articles Psychology of Y2K LATEST NEWS As of December 31, 1999 Get Your T-Shirt Quick Bill Gates Does Y2K Reader Feedback A Sarcastic Calendar Cooking After the Apocalypse A Real Y2K Disaster Hitchhiker's Guide Meets Y2K