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Software that is labeled 'Y2K compliant' has to meet certain specifications with respect to date handling. In particular, it has to handle dates after 12/31/99. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it has to handle dates the way you want it to, nor does it necessarily mean it always understands when '00' means '2000'. If you use a data analysis program to read data that includes dates, you should be sure you know how your program will handle '00'. Read on for information about SAS and SPSS (both available on bama.ua.edu and for Windows), and check the statuser web page at http://bama.ua.edu/~statuser for more information.
SAS: SAS uses an option called 'yearcutoff'. All date variables with 2-digit years are assumed to be within a 100-year period that starts at the 'yearcutoff' year. For example, in version 6 (current) of SAS for PC, Mac and UNIX, 'yearcutoff' is set to 1900. So, if your data contains a date variable with a year value of 50, the year 1950 will be used. If your data contains a date variable with year 00, the year 1900 will be used. You can change the 'yearcutoff' year within your program (using an option statement to specify a different year). You pick the year which best suits your data. It is also possible to change the system default. The next version (7) of SAS (not yet available except as a test version) will have the default 'yearcutoff' year set to 1920. In anticipation of this, the default year on the bama.ua.edu version of SAS will be changed on April 12, 1999, and will be set to 1920. If you are currently running SAS on data with dates before 1920, you may need to use the 'yearcutoff' option beginning April 12. If you are running SAS on a PC, you can also change the default value. See the statuser web page for more information on the 'yearcutoff' option and how to change it.
SPSS: If you are running SPSS on a PC, you can use a program option to set the first year of the 100-year span for evaluating date format variables with 2-digit years. (See the statuser web page for instructions. This is similar to the 'yearcutoff' described above.) Unfortunately, SPSS does not support the UNIX version of its software to the same level as the PC version. At this time there is not a way to change the default date assumptions in SPSS running on bama.ua.edu. Date variables entered with a year of '00' are assumed to be in 1900. SPSS (on its Y2K statement page) suggests that this problem may be addressed sometime later this year. In the meantime, if you plan to use date variables with year values after 1999 in SPSS on bama.ua.edu, you should use 4-digit years.
Seebeck Computer Center now has a small PC lab open in 127 Gordon Palmer. (This is the room that used to contain mainframe terminals.) The lab contains 9 Dell Optiplex GX1s (each has a Zip drive, one is arranged for disabled access, one has a scanner), an NCD UNIX X-station, and an iMac (with a SuperDrive). The lab will be open whenever the Computer Center is open. Normal hours are from 8am Sunday continuously until midnight Friday, and 8am to midnight on Saturday. During late hours, use the front door to Gordon Palmer. The lab is down the stairs and to the left. The rear assisted access door will also be open.
On March 27, 28 and 29 (during the spring holiday) most of the campus north of University Blvd will be without electrical power, as the north campus distribution system is upgraded. This will affect computer service on those days. Essential network and telecommunications functions, including the campus telephone system and the network nameserver, will continue running on a generator. However, the bama.ua.edu server will be down during this period, as will the amelia.ua.edu server and all the administrative application programs. All systems and services are expected to be back up on Tuesday March 30.
Obviously, if bama.ua.edu is down, mail sent to an address on bama.ua.edu cannot be delivered. However, most mail servers, when they don't receive a response from bama, will keep trying to get a response (usually for three to five days.) Then, when bama.ua.edu comes back up and they get a response, the mail will be delivered. Thus, while some mail sent to bama during this period may be returned to sender, most mail should be delivered.
The campus modem system depends on bama.ua.edu for dialup authentication. During the power outage, the Computer Center will try to use a generator-powered backup system as the default for dialup authentication. When you enter your bama account for authentication, leave off the '@bama.ua.edu' suffix, and your account should authenticate on the default system. This will allow you access to the Internet, but you will not be able to send or receive e-mail while bama.ua.edu is down.
For additional information about this service interruption, visit the NEWSFLASH on the Helpdesk homepage, at http://helpdesk.ua.edu/
Question: Is BamaMail the same thing as bama.ua.edu?
Answer: BamaMail is a PC running a mail access program, which gives you access to your e-mail on bama.ua.edu. BamaMail allows you to access your mail from any compatible browser, anywhere. It leaves your mail stored on the server bama.ua.edu. It doesn't require the computer or browser you are using to be set up for e-mail or personalized to you. It accesses the same mail folders on bama.ua.edu that you access with pine or any of the IMAP mail clients.
BamaMail is useful if you need to access your e-mail on bama.ua.edu but you are not using your own personal computer. For example, if you read your mail from a PC lab, you can use BamaMail. If you are traveling and borrow a machine to read your mail, you might use BamaMail. It does not require any browser setup. Just open the location https://bamamail.ua.edu, logon with your account and password on the bama.ua.edu server, and you can read and respond to your mail. Your responses are also saved on your account on bama.ua.edu.
If you use your own personal computer, at home or at work, you probably prefer to use a more personalized program, with more options and easier access, such as Netscape (setup for IMAP mail access), Outlook, Eudora, or pine (by logging on bama.ua.edu).
BamaMail is NOT an e-mail address. You cannot send mail to account@bamamail.ua.edu. Do not use it as your return address, even if you use BamaMail to read your mail. Also note that, while BamaMail and most of the mail clients in use on campus access the same mail folders on bama.ua.edu, they all use different rules for handling address books and outgoing mail. For example, most PC client mail packages store your personal addresses on your PC. If you are traveling and use BamaMail to access your mail on bama.ua.edu, you will not have access to your address book stored back on your home computer. But you will be able to read and respond to your mail from wherever you are. If you always use BamaMail to read your mail, and set up your personal address book using BamaMail, then you will be able to access your personal address book no matter what PC you use to access BamaMail.
If you have not finished moving your files, tapes and applications off of UA1VM, you need to finish immediately, BEFORE the spring holiday. The UA1VM name change is now scheduled for March 25. (This name change was postponed from January pending migration of administrative services. See the January issue of this newsletter for more information.) The name change affects mail delivery and web page service. Then, during the spring holiday, UA1VM will be down for 3 days during the north campus power outage. (See related article above.) Beginning April 1, most of the licensed software will have expired, including all the software that manages the tape library, the file backup system, and accounts. Do not wait; finish your migration now. After the holiday, additional services will be cut back. By the end of the semester, this computer system will no longer be available.