Americans Told "Get Ready For Year 2000!".

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 1998--The government is encouraging citizens to prepare for possible problems created by the Year 2000 computer rollover problem, or "millennium bug". Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, recently said "I cannot be optimistic and I am generally concerned about the possibility of power shortages...Pay attention to the things that are vulnerable in your life and make contingency plans."

A video and supporting web site are now available to show the average suburban dweller how to prepare for possible service disruptions in the delivery of electricity, food, water, telephone, etc. The video, "Ed Yourdon's Year 2000 Home Preparation Guide: Your Home, Your Family, Yourself", is a collaboration of Year 2000 experts; including computer guru Ed Yourdon, his daughter, Jennifer Yourdon, preparedness expert James Talmage Stevens and Y2K Solutions Group, Inc., producer of educational videos for the millennium problem.

The Year 2000 Home Preparation web site http://www.readyfory2k.com offers quality information and links. Vendors of preparedness equipment and food offer discounts or free gifts to people ordering through the site. The site features quotes concerning Y2K, weekly tips, and charts for determining your family's needs for food and water, plus an upcoming biweekly "Y2K Ready Newsletter". Topics include food and water storage, alternative sources of heat, light, safety, and health concerns. Each video comes with a "Year 2000 Preparedness Catalog" which carries everything from food storage products to solar flashlights

Ed Yourdon, one of the world's leading computer educators and author of over 25 computer books, wrote the New York Times business bestseller, "Time Bomb 2000", with his daughter, Jennifer Yourdon. Family food storage expert, James Talmage Stevens is the author of "Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook", which has sold over 400,000 copies, and the recently released "Don't Get Caught With Your Pantry Down!", a guide to the resources and information of the preparedness industry. Their approach to the Y2K problem is neither "doom and gloom", nor complacency, but rather assumes the possibility of a temporary break in the infrastructure that delivers essential services and goods.

The Y2K problem, or "millennium bug", is due to the fact that many computers, from the largest mainframes to the smallest microprocessors, will have trouble accurately processing dates and codes after January 1, 2000. Though many disagree as to the extent of the severity of possible problems, most professionals working on the problem agree that a temporary failure of the infrastructure is a distinct possibility. The video and web site is designed to give people accurate information on how to plan for these events.

"In this situation, you can't just go by the FEMA or Red Cross guidelines," says Stevens. "You must consider many other things. Does your thermostat or heating systems have a chip that may fail and leave you without heat in the middle of winter? Should you get several months supplies of essential prescription medicines? Will you need extra cash in case there are banking or ATM problems? These are problems specific only to Y2K, not other common emergencies."

Yourdon and Stevens recommend preparing for a minimum of a 2 to 4 week disruption, however the video explains contingency planning for a year or more. "We will fix it. We just won't fix it all in time", says Y2K Solutions Group's president Robert Roskind. "If the infrastructure has problems they will be repaired but there could be serious problems until they are." The video, "Ed Yourdon's Year 2000 Home Preparation Guide: Your Home, Your Family, Yourself" can be ordered at http://www.readyfory2k.com. or by calling 1-888 Y2K-4YOU. Special volume pricing is available for non-profits, churches and Y2K community groups.

For preview videos, more information about Y2K Solutions Group's other computer videos, or to arrange an interview with Ed Yourdon or James Stevens contact Robert Roskind at Y2K Solutions Group, Inc. at 214 W. Cameron Ave, Chapel Hill, NC 27516, [phone] or email at [e-mail].