| The following column appeared in The River Reporter on June 25, 1998. |
By Bert S. Feldman
The Recusant Reporter
Thursday, June 25, 1998
All the media coverage and idle conversation concerning the demise of almost everything because of a computer foul-up, has confused me no end. Being a total computer illiterate myself, I sought out Michael Zier of Bethel, a student at the University of Southern California, who seems to know more about the subject than anyone else. So, without any further ado, take it away, Mike:
"As many technological soothsayers would have you believe, the start of the year 2000 will be the end of organized civilization as we know it, merely because of an oversight in many computer hardware and software programs.
"This glitch would make computers believe the year was 1900, not 2000. The irony of the situation is the problem’s main curse is the drive to do things faster and using less resources.
"The programming that allows this error to unfold is the way many programs deal with the year component of a date. Instead of storing and processing the year in a full four-digit format, to conserve space and save processing time, often it is stored as only two numbers. The computer then tacks on "19" to the front of this number to generate the date.
"This practice could not be seen as poor planning at first, given the fact that the productive lifespan of an average computer back then was about that of a turtle. The problem came in when most programmers waited to what could be considered ‘the last minute’ to reprogram their systems.
"For the average home computer user, this will mean both time and expense to fix. New versions of finance software will need to be purchased, and, on some older machines, the basic system software (the operating system) will need to be replaced. For a business, many programs will require similar attention, but will carry higher price tags.
"Will the world come to an end? Most likely not. But if the problem isn’t solved in places such as your bank, your creditors, or even some distributors for your local stores, many matters may be mishandled while the problem is being taken care of. The average person need not worry too much, as the problem is being dealt with.
"Now, if we could only only solve the argument over the millenium starting at 2000 or 2001."
Thank you for your information, Mike. As to the starting date of the millenium, it’s 2001.
The Old Philosopher sez:
As always, the e-mail is deadlier than the mail.
