Action 2K slams MS and others over Y2K info

The UK's Action 2000 campaign group is setting its sights on software packages whose manufacturers seem to be unable to decide whether, or how, Y2K-compliant they are. And Microsoft products are strong performers in the list of shame. As we've pointed out here in the past, Microsoft has an unfortunate habit of both discovering millennium issues in relatively recent products, and of changing its mind about the compliance status of its products. Action 2000 says that software manufacturers are failing to provide clear information on their products, and they keep changing the information they supply about compliance. This is causing major delays to companies trying to tackle Y2K. Action 2000 so far has a list of 24 software packages where this information has been changed recently, and this list includes Word 97, Excel 95, Outlook 98 and Windows NT Site Server. A Microsoft spokesman conceded that there were problems in a BBC radio interview this morning. Action 2000 meanwhile has surveyed users, and found that 40 per cent of the UK's top 500 companies say that changes in compliance status of software have delayed their Y2K programmes. ®