RI 'unprepared for millennium bug'
JAKARTA (JP): An information technology expert said on Tuesday that Indonesia had yet to push ahead with programs to anticipate problems arising from the millennium bug by the turn of the year.
Microprocessor producer Intel Corp.'s country manager for Indonesia Werner Sutanto considered Indonesia is lagging behind neighboring countries in preparing to face up to the problems in the computer system caused by the Y2k bug in the year 2000.
"For instance, the Malaysian government has long set up a website on the Internet to inform the public about Y2k problems, the names of companies or agencies which have already taken the matter in hand, and the names of consultancies which provide services to prepare computer users for these Y2k problems," Werner said on the sidelines of the ceremony to launch Intel's latest microprocessor Pentium III.
He said many private companies, including banking corporations, have prepared their computer systems well in this context but the general public is still ignorant about the issue.
"Most Indonesians still don't know where to go to adapt their computer systems," he said.
Werner called on the government to disseminate information regarding the issues and raise public awareness of the problems.
Local computer producer Mugen's director Wiriadi Tirtariyadi also highlighted the government's lack of attention to efforts to prepare the public for millennium bug problems.
"I think the government is not prioritizing Y2k preparation as it is facing a lot of problems in the economic and political spheres," Wiriadi said.
The Y2k problems arises from the inability of some computers and computer systems to recognize the date 2000, since they were programmed to read only the last two digits of a year.
This glitch may cause computers to malfunction or shut down.
Werner called on the public to more seriously pay attention to the millennium bug since it would not only affect computer users but also the living environment.
"The millennium bug can affect the operation of traffic lights, lifts and other utilities, thus our living environment" he said.
Intel launched on Tuesday its latest microprocessor, Pentium III, which is the first microprocessor designed to enhance the quality of images, streaming video and video, speech recognition on the Internet.
The Pentium III processor is available at 450 and 500 Megahertz (MHz) while the 550 MHz version will be available in the second quarter of this year.
"The Pentium III processor enables the most powerful personal computer for running media-rich software on and off the Internet at home and in business," Intel's sales and marketing director for Southeast Asia Martin Geh said during the presentation of the new product.
The Pentium III microprocessors cost less US$2,000 each.
The company refused to reveal its sales target amid weak demand in the domestic market for computers. (jsk)