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Y2K As the new millenium approaches, big parties, and celebrations around the world have already been planned. However, the steady approach of the new millenium is not a cause to party for software programmers around the globe. Instead, the year 2000 is a cause for them to lose hair, and to make whatever is left of it white. If they do solve the problem, however, you can anticipate the largest New Year’s party in all time. With technology presently at its dizzying heights, the bug that presents a problem to so many people the world over is relatively simple (although not to solve). The bug, commonly called Y2K, started decades ago when a decision was made to truncate years into two digits as an effort to save memory. Therefore, the year 1998 will be 98 in computer code, but the year 2000 will be a 00, and the computers will read it as 1900, and any date-sensitive computer programs will crash. The government predicts that a large number of homes in the nation will be affected by a blackout, as the power plants rely on date-sensitive programs. The nation’s top 250 computer companies will spend $ 37 billion to try to solve the problem says industry consulting group Triaxsys. The nations top computer programmers sit hunched over at their stations trying to figure out a solution for this problem, although they are having a tough time doing so as the "two-year system" is embedded in the chips. The flourishing American economy might be in some danger itself. The investors - who pump millions of dollars in to the market each day - have very little information on how far has that company come in solving the Y2K bug. The investor has very little idea on whether or not the company they are investing thousands of dollars on will come through unharmed after the year 2000. The feverish pace with which technology is advancing is like a beacon in a long, dark tunnel that lies ahead. The rapid improvements of technology almost make one think that a solution to the problem will be found easily in the one full year that remains before 2000. Companies that fail to fix the bug, though, will be subject to serious problems. If they cannot fix the bug in the remaining few days that remain before Jan. 1, 2000, any company that is vulnerable internally, or through a supplier to Y2K, has a rocky path ahead. The company could be staring in the face of disruptions, malfunctions, and shutdowns. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking steadily toward that dreaded date, Jan. 1, 2000.
Date Posted : June 21, 1998. What do
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