>So tell me what all the fuss is about with this Y2K thing - Please!!! Is it
>just another marketing ploy to get people to buy more computers? If not
>that, then what's the motives? Or is this just related to mainframes?
the biggest problem with Y2K is that the discussion surrounding it has made
it seem more complex than it is.. the main issue in Y2K is systems which do
two things: they keep time records that only use two-digit dates, to save
space; and they decide whether one date is earlier than another by
subtracting.
for a much more 'real' version of the Y2K problem, take a look at the
various credit card and insurance companies who decide whether accounts are
valid by checking the expiration date. if you get a new card this year,
and it expires in '01, you face Y2K issues. there have been reported
cases where someone with a brand-new card has been unable to make a
purchase, because the processing company's software says it's expired.
there are a host of other, related problems, all of which follow the same
general pattern, but which deal with embedded systems.. digital hardware
without a control interface a human can control. a friend of mine works
for Exxon, and says that Y2K is a major pain in the tuckus for them,
because they have digital equipment buried as much as 5 miles underground,
and no way to get some of it back. they have to decide when the cost of
putting up with inconvenient data from those systems outweighs the cost of
scapping that hardware and planting a new batch.
the issue also extends off of computers and into the world of paper
records.. for most of the last century, the US gov't has used a two-digit
date for all its documents. twelve years from now, when someone
references a document from '10, it may not be immediately obvious whether
it's pre- or post-WWI. the burden of converting all those records to a
new standard will be appreciable. many businesses who want to roll over
to new, Y2K compliant software with four-digit date codes, will face the
same burden of updating their historical data to fit into the new system.
personally, i don't expect to see the moon turning to blood or dogs and
cats living together when the Y2K bomb goes off.. but i do expect to hear a
whole lot of swearing, as people discover all the ways their time-sensitive
systems don't work as well, any more. i figure the effects will be on
roughly the same scale as your everyday mid-sized hurricane, earthquake, or
blizzard.. depending on your region and/or preference. they'll just be
spread out all over the place.
mike stone <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 'net geek..
been there, done that, have network, will travel.
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