IBM PROVIDES Y2K TOOLS Site offers free downloadable tests and updates even for very old IBM PCs. by Ed Scannell, InfoWorld November 3, 1998, 4:00 a.m. PT Looking to provide relief from Year 2000 problems, IBM has launched a Web site clearinghouse that includes free software and analysis tools to fix a variety of problems on IBM PCs dating as far back as the early 1980s. You can find it at: http://www.ibm.com/IBM/year2000/. The PC Systems Year 2000 Road Map site offers diagnostic tools and access to the software needed to get IBM PCs ready for 2000--even old systems with the PC AT bus. "We have engineered this site so customers can follow an easy-to-understand, step-by-step process on how to inventory, assess, fix, replace, and test desktop systems," said one IBM insider. You can download IBM's free Year 2000 Evaluation Tool, which checks the overall fitness of your machines for the new millennium. For instance, the tool can assess how the hardware clock and BIOS will respond to the transition. The IBM Year 2000 Device Driver and BIOS updates are also free to download. Analysts briefed on the new site have credited IBM with doing a better job than most at catering to the nontechnical and with providing one-stop shopping for basic information and the necessary diagnostic tools. They added, however, that those more technically aware can gain most of the same services on competitors' sites, such as those of Compaq and Dell. "There's nothing here that isn't available from [IBM's] competition, but what IBM has done is developed an easier approach for the non-tech-savvy," said Kevin Knox, a research analyst at the Gartner Group's End User Computing group, in Stamford, Connecticut. Some observers said the IBM site should be less cluttered with tutorials on Year 2000 issues and should offer clearer access to tools. "What I would like to see right off the bat is a screen where you put in your PC's model number and find out if you are okay," said Bill Ablondi, an analyst at Market Maps, in New Canaan, Connecticut. "Most people aren't on a site like this to gain a better understanding of all the Year 2000 issues." Copyright © 1998 PC World Communications. |