"I drove out to their location to look into the problem," says fish. "They were running a back-level, unsupported version of the software. I began investigating, taking screenshots and running traces, and I found that not only was their TP system back-level, but their networking and operating system were also several releases back-level.

"Early 1997 was still early for the big Y2k push, but this customer was not even close to being Y2k-compliant."

Turns out the customer handles outsourced work from several local banks, and management has decided to save money by freezing upgrades. At least that's what fish is told by the consultant who's getting paid an astronomical hourly rate to keep things running.

After a day's digging, fish has tracked down the problem and sits down with the consultant to explain what she's found and how to fix it. But once that's done, fish can't resist adding a suggestion.

You wouldn't have had this problem if your software was at a current level, she tells the consultant. None of your software is Y2k-ready, and it could easily take you years to get to all the latest levels of software. You need to start moving now.