Issue 62		SMARTS Broadcast Systems	      October  1999

Hello, October is here and we're all looking forward to bags of candy and little ghosts and goblins. I certainly hope you don't scare easy. Read on, McDuff, and if you are prepared, you won't need to be scared. IT'S COMING!!! This year is slipping by quickly and that means the end of the year and the moment of truth are rapidly approaching. We have about 80 days until the end of the year. Let me break those 80 days down so that you realize the gravity of the situation. Let's just write off December. Face it, you will be recording and airing Christmas programs, doing three times the normal commercial load, not to mention producing all of those spots. You will be lucky to come up for air, let alone take the time to take your unit off the air to install software. So now we're down to October and November, and each of those has a holiday with an additional spot load that goes above and beyond normal. Not excluding any weeks, we have about eight weeks before life gets BUSY. And the Support Department doesn't install software on Fridays. So, four days a week times eight weeks comes to 32 working days to get your software in place. Now, divide the 2,000 units we have in the field by the days available and you come up with 62.5 installs per day. Seeing these numbers, it is wise to get your software in as soon as possible so that you aren't the one at the end of the line who doesn't get their software in before New Years' Day. Each software shipment comes with an instruction sheet on how to install it yourself. You may put it in at your convenience. The sooner the better, though. And once you have installed it we do ask that you call the Support Line and leave a message informing us so that we can update our records. If you would prefer supervision while doing the install, call the Support Line to make an appointment. You may not be aware of it, but there is a procrastinators' algorithm that applies to this situation. It basically states that if there is a time period between the start of a project and its deadline, no real work will be done until half the time has passed. So, if you have two weeks to do something, you really won't work on it until you have one week left. You won't start until you begin to feel the pressure. I have given you the numbers so that you realize that the pressure is already here and is increasing in regard to Y2K. MAIN CONCERNS The main Y2k concerns in the SMARTCASTER software will be the Break, Record, and Remote Screens. Each of these screens will look at the end date, and will see any dates in the new year as outdated because the program will see that number as prior to 1999. Now, let me tell you what makes me nervous. We have over 2,000 units in the field. Many have been sent the latest software that will get them over the new year and change the end dates on their TFN audio cuts. We are still working to do those installs and get them set up. What scares me is that there are a lot more out there that either haven't done the test or haven't indicated that they have put in the new software. You need to let us know! Some have already done the work so that they are prepared in case of an unforeseen problem and so that they can get on with the day to day work. HOW ABOUT YOU? DATE CONVERSION I already referred to it. There is a Date Conversion program in the Y2K software. It allows you to change the end dates from 12/30/99 to whatever date you pick on the other side of the New Year. And it will do all of your audio cuts at once in a matter of minutes. Remember, everything you have in your inventory becomes outdated on January 1st. Date Conversion can help you with that. Doug Burton

     OFFICE: 800-747-6278	     SUPPORT: 800-765-2930         
     SALES: 800-498-0487             E-MAIL: support@smartsbroadcast.com
				 WEBSITE: http://www.smartsbroadcast.com