IT News Review - Week Ending Monday 8/3/1999

South Australia paints Y2K worst case, boosts Y2K budgetNo electricity for two weeks from 1/1/2000 and a 10 per cent reduction in employment extending from that date until February 2000.

That is the worst case scenario the South Australian government uses to draw up its Y2K contingency plans according to Wayne Matthew, SA Minister for Y2K Compliance.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT0000712E Qld govt must pick up its act Queensland must lift its game in the electronic delivery of government services, training and skills programs, e-commerce and telecommunications infrastructures. Those are the bullet points in a long-awaited discussion paper outlining the state government's preferred directions for Queensland's information economy.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00007136Oracle prepares customers for Y2K - for free Oracle customers who are using old versions of Oracle databases and other software will have an opportunity to upgrade its old non-Y2K-compliant products for free, as long as they do it before the 30th of April 1999.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/arndb.NSF/Current/NT0000B452Online transactions slow amid Internet connection take-offThe Australian Bureau of Statistics has released figures for November 1998 showing that while the number of households connecting to the Internet has increased by 49 per cent since last February, online transactions such as bill paying and shopping remain low.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/arndb.NSF/Current/NT0000B51ESenate report updates Y2K readinessThe US is likely to experience "a bump in the road" as a result of the year 2000 computer problem, but other nations remain especially at risk for economic turmoil and civil unrest, according to a report outlined yesterday by members of a US Senate committee created to track preparedness. "We do not expect that this country will be crippled to the point that there will be disastrous consequences for a long time," said Senator Robert Bennett, chairman of the Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Technical Problem.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00007162Call centre industry set for billion-dollar leapThe burgeoning growth of the Australian call centre market could provide much needed jobs for regional cities, according to a study released this week. The CCR research, titled The Australian Call Centre Location Study, showed the local call centre industry was worth $2.5 billion and would grow to $3.5 billion by the start of next year. Martin Conboy, director of CCR, said Australian call centres and help desks employed 60,000 people and some served international customers.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00007176IBM pledges broad Linux supportIBM put some meat on its Linux plans on Tuesday when it announced alliances with four leading Linux distributors, as well as a timetable for delivering a host of hardware, software and middleware products for the open source operating system. The company joins Oracle, Corel, Intel, Computer Associates. and several other vendors at LinuxWorld here this week who said they are stepping up their Linux plans.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/nwwdb.NSF/mailout/NT00005BAEE-cash technology waits for user's green lightWidespread commercial adoption of electronic smart card cash technology in Australia is drawing closer to reality as Visa Australia moves to complete local user acceptance testing. Two organisations, the South Australian Cricket Association and the Australian Technology Park in Sydney, are operating as Visa Cash pilot sites in partnership with local banks.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00007196IBM, Dell in $US16 billion dealIBM and Dell Computer have announced a $US16 billion technology pact, calling for Dell to purchase storage, microelectronics, networking and display technology from IBM. The agreement will help Dell's efforts to expand the line of products it has started to develop in-house, particularly servers, storage products and notebook PCs, according to Mike Lambert, senior vice president of Dell enterprise systems group.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT00007192US Senate Committee approves Y2K billThe US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has approved by an 11-9 vote a bill that would limit litigation related to the year 2000 computer problem. The bill, known as the Y2K Act, still must go to the full Senate and the House of Representatives for approval and then must be sent to the president for his signature before the proposal becomes law.

Click on the link below for the full storyhttp://www2.idg.com.au/CWT1997.nsf/CWTCurrent/NT000071AA

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