No, the problems concerning the Year 2000 have not died, although a lot of people wish they would. The undertakers needed for the Year 2000 (Y2K) are probably not the type you think. Recently while touring beautiful old homes in Williamsburg, a colleague was startled to learn that one well-to-do owner had been an undertaker—until the guide said that in the 1700s the man "undertook" large projects. Today the man would be a general contractor. The Webster dictionary has two definitions of undertaker: the first is a person who undertakes something, and the second is a funeral director. We need undertakers for large Y2K conversion projects—definition one.

Year 2000 problems are getting more and more press coverage lately. Congress and the general public have raised awareness of the problem, and the President last month issued an executive order creating the Year 2000 Conversion Council. Former OMB deputy chairman John Koskinen will serve as Council chairman, overseeing the Y2K transition of federal agencies. The executive order instructs agency heads to give Y2K the highest priority, to provide the fullest cooperation possible to the chairman, and to designate "a responsible official" to the council. Now is the time to ensure that your Y2K project plans are in place and on schedule. If they are not, you will need to know why and how to get back on track before the highest office in the land starts asking these questions. Undertake (definition one) the Y2K conversion for your application today!

The good news is that DCRT already has in place the tools and plans to help you, as well as a full application conversion service. The fastest and easiest way to complete your Y2K project—and avoid all those embarrassing questions—is to use the DCRT Year 2000 conversion service (see article in INTERFACE 203). If you are now ready to test your converted applications, bring them to the NIH Computer Center’s MVS Y2K testing facility (see article in INTERFACE 203). For more information on the tools and services we have available to help you, go to the Year 2000 webpage http://silk.nih.gov/silk/year2000.

If you don’t know where to begin, just call TASC and ask about Year 2000 services to get the help you need. If you do nothing, on January 1, 2000, you will need an undertaker—definitely definition two.