Y2K DOOMSAYERS TO BE HURT MOST BY Y2K

Y2K DOOMSAYERS TO BE HURT MOST BY Y2K

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. (Wireless Flash) -- The folks who will be hurt the most by the Y2K crisis will be those who are capitalizing on the crisis with doomsday warnings. That's according to former IBM computer programmer Alan Wallach -- who, back in the '60s designed the troublesome computer programs that use only two digits to reflect the year. Wallach says businesses and consultants who are exaggerating the Y2K problem are the ones who will be out of business when January 1, 2000, rolls around and all is fine. But Mike Adams, publisher of the web-based "Y2KNewswire," insists Y2K problems have been minimized and claims most problems won't show up until after January 1. Still, he says if the problem does turn about to be much ado about nothing, it won't hurt the Y2K-oriented businesses, just their reputations. Wallach says even if there are problems, there isn't a computer bug that will take more than a few hours to fix. Wallach is the author of "The Year 2000 Hoax" (Safe Goods Press).