Y2K - The Official Word   continued...

1. Handle date information before, during and after midnight, Dec. 31, 1999, including, but not limited to accepting date input, providing date output; and, performing calculations, and comparisons on dates or portions of dates. Date interpretation and manipulation must be correct for all valid date values within the application domain.
2. Function accurately and without interruption before, during and after Jan. 1st, 2000, without any change in operations associated with the advent of the new century.
3. Respond to two-digit year date input in a way that resolves the ambiguity as to the century in a disclosed, defined and predetermined manner. Interfacing software must make the same century assumptions when processing two-digit years.
4. Process the year 2000 as a leap year.
5. Correctly handle date fields containing non-date information and correctly handle a date held in a non-date field.
6. Correctly process any date with a year specified as '99' and '00', regardless of other subjective meanings attached to these values.

So there you have it. This is the actual specification that all of the retired COBOL programmers are working toward to prevent Armageddon in 9 months or so.

These specifications, although somewhat 'legalese' are a good basis for questions for you to ask any computer or software company concerning their Y2K compliance. If they can honestly say they are Y2K compliant, they meet all of these specifications.

Graphical Passwords

PassLogix, a New York City software company, said it hopes users will ‘get the picture' when it comes to network security. The three-year-old company has recently released a software product called v-GO. This application uses a graphical interface to manage passwords.

Easily guessed and often hacked, passwords are widely regarded as the weak link in network security. All types of sophisticated space-age identification schemes; from retinal imaging to thumbprint scanning, depend on a password for an added layer of security.

v-GO lets users create and protect a universal password by navigating through an image. Entering a password is accomplished by clicking on a series of items within that image. The company's demonstration uses a kitchen metaphor, whereby a user takes a turkey and puts it in the oven, then dips the asparagus in water, and sets a timer to open an application.

"The idea is cute," Seamus McAteer, an analyst for Jupiter Communications in New York, said. "It's a new category."

The v-GO software can store 128-bit encrypted regular IDs and passwords and then automatically log users into protected web sites, applications, files, or services with the universal password.

The company is giving away a version for the consumer market but will eventually sell an extended version for corporate use at $40 to $60 per user, said Marc Boroditsky, PassLogix CEO.

One analyst said the product takes 26 minutes to download using a 28.8 modem and that might be a barrier to entering the consumer market.

"That's a steep hill to climb," said McAteer of Jupiter. "But with a Disney branded interface, it could be something big for the kids' market."

The software runs on Windows 95, 98, and NT, but the company plans to release versions for the Mac OS and popular handheld devices, such as Windows CE, Boroditsky said.

The company will also bundle in a tool that will let users build their own interface for advertising and marketing.

"We want it to be as easy as picking a screensaver," said Boroditsky.