"Bill Gates will fix it" is a common phrase heard from y2k unknowledgeable folk. There is an undying faith that some computer geek will come along and solve it all. Because of his reputation and wealth, what he says is regarded with respect.

Remember that he is in the PC software business. Because he's in micro-computer PC software, the view is skewed. There aren't many y2k problems in the newer model PC's anyways.

I will make a bold statement here: Gary north, Ed Yourdon, Capers jones and even myself know more about the whole Y2K situation than Bill Gates. Think about it...He has a business to run, and this takes lot's of time. Do you really think he sits in front of a computer all day long reading government reports and combing through SEC filings looking for evidence on Y2K like those mentioned? Sure he is smart and a multi-billionaire but does this mean he knows everything? Does he understand how economies, social systems and nature function? Does he understand just how many systems are at risk from y2k? What about mainframes and embedded systems...sectors that he is not involved in?

"It won't be as catastrophic as some people suggest."

This is a vague statement and is open to different interpretation. Here is the problem of polarization. It is assumed that there are only extreme doomsayers and at the other end, pollyannas. To be considered a 4 out of 5 is unheard of.

"Planes falling out of the sky" is a common myth heard from reporters (who pick up this line from other reporters--I know of no credible person who has ever said that).

"Some countries will have more problems than others with the arrival of the year 2000, but for most of us it will only be a minor inconvenience," he said.

Oh yeah, Bill? What evidence do you have to suggest this? Show me how we are going to avoid a disaster if 75% of small businesses have yet to do anything on y2k. Half of local governments still have done nothing. The government is lying through its teeth on its preparedness. Show me how how hospitals are going to function when their computers, Medicare and Medicaid no longer fuction. Show me one fully compliant and tested Fortune 500 company.

If you are going to make such statements, Bill, then show us the methodology you used to arrive at this conclusion.

     BOGOTA, April 12 ( Reuters ) - For most people, the millennium bug should prove to be no more than "a minor inconvenience," according to Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates.

     Some industry experts have made dire predictions about Y2K, or the problems that will erupt if computer systems are unable to read the year 2000 correctly.

     But Gates, in an interview published Monday in Colombia's weekly news magazine Semana, said, "It won't be as catastrophic as some people suggest."

     He acknowledged that people in some countries were likely to suffer more of an impact than others, since the state of readiness and information technology were far from uniform worldwide.

     But Gates, who stressed that many of Microsoft's own products offer a solution to the problem of how older computers keep track of years, played down any cataclysmic threat.

     "Some countries will have more problems than others with the arrival of the year 2000, but for most of us it will only be a minor inconvenience," he said.

     "The most important thing is that people in the area of information technology ... should remember that there's still time to solve the problem," Gates was quoted as saying.

     "But the time to start -- if you haven't already done so -- is now."