Hello everybody!

Y2KTOOLS package Release 4 (containing Pktdate 1.3) is now available. See
below for what's new in this version. The upgrade is definitely worth it. -
This package has two purposes:

First, PKTDATE is a PKT preprocessing utility. It can automatically process a
PKT file and fix year 2000 problems in that file and so keep the net running
even if individual nodes continue to use faulty software in the year 2000.

Second, the package contains an explantatory text that instructs users on how
they can check if their system is year 2000 ready, and tools for displaying
dates in various storage formats that aid them in this process.

You can obtain the file:

Y2KTOOL4.ZIP  366811  02 Dec 1999  Fidonet Year 2000 Utilities Release 4

- via fidonet f'req at 2:2476/418
- via WWW: http://www.physcip.uni-stuttgart.de/tobi/projects.html#y2ktools
- soon at ftp.juge.com or f'req at 1:106/2000
- soon at all GFD and BBSNet sites

This version has the following major changes, plus some minor ones:
  - PKTDATE has been enhanced by the feature to leave backup copies of the
    original unmodified files behind (renamed to .Y2K) if it fixes anything,
    so that you can afterwards see what exactly was wrong in the file (as
    an additional information to what is already in the log file).
  - PKTDATE with -q switch can now work with .QQQ files (Fastecho TempOut)
  - Bugs in PKTDATE have been fixed.
  - A JAM date display tool has been added.
  - German Documentation has been added.

I wish to thank everybody who contributed bugreports, ideas, documentation,
and code to this new version of the package. You really helped me.

I wrote Y2ktools and Pktdate because I realised that it is impossible to get
every single Point and Node to completely fix their software until 1/1/2000.
There are still many in the "silent masses" that do not even know that they
have to fix something, and this could cause a lot of trouble. So the concept
of Pktdate is that rather than trying to get every single user to fix his
software, one should rather install a "bug reversing utility" at central
cites, like Hubs, Hosts, Echomail backbone systems, and I/O gates, that can
undo the bugs that the individual users might introduce into the Net. If all
Hubs or Hosts would do this, Fidonet would be able to function correctly in
the year 2000 even if a lot of individual Nodes do not fix their problems. Or
at least, problems of individual Nodes would not be able to cause problems at
other sites (which currently cannot be guaranteed, unless you are using
Pktdate).

Consequently, I want to encourage everybody who has downlinks, be it a Node,
Hub or Host, to install the Pktdate utility, and if you are a NC or RC, I
think you should encourage the important persons in your net to do so. To make 
this easy for everybody, Y2KTOOLS are "Public Domain" free software, the
package contains ready-made binaries for OS/2, DOS, Linux, Windows 95/NT and
Amiga, plus the source code which is plain ANSI-C and should compile just
about everywhere.

Any feedback on this is highly welcome. Places where this is on-topic that I
do monitor include the 2000 Fidonet echo, the FIDO_UTIL and FTSC_PUBLIC
conferences, in Germany FIDO2000.GER and FIDOSOFT.GER, and of course my
Netmail folder :-).

Kind Regards,
Tobias.

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