Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Y2K problem Y2K problem The Y2K problem...the Y2K glitch...the millennium bug. Whatever you call it, it is the inability of some computers and computerized systems to correctly recognize dates after December 31, 1999. Many products have microchips that have been programmed to process only the last two digits of a year on the assumption that the first two would be one and nine. As a result, 98 is read as 1998, and 00 could be read as 1900 instead of 2000. How do you know if you will encounter Y2K problem? I have prepared the following checklist to help you avoid being bitten by the millennium bug.  If you have a personal computer, PC software, fax machine, camcorder, camera, digital wristwatch, monitored security system or Global Positioning System unit, check the manufacturer’s web site or contact the manufacturer to see whether your product has the potential for a Y2K problem.  Make a list of your other household products with a calendar function. Check the manufacturer’s web site or contact the manufacturer by telephone or mail to find out compliance status.  If you have a bank, mutual fund or brokerage account, start to keep records of any transactions that you make at least 3 months before and after January 1, 2000. If you use your computer to make any of these transactions, download the records of your transactions, and keep them on a backup diskette. Print copies for your files.  If you have a mortgage, car loan or other debts, keep your canceled checks as proof of the payments you have made. Ask your mortgage or car lender for a statement of payments already made and those to come with the amounts allocated to interest, principal and escrow in order to ensure an accurate record of your payments.  Ask your financial service providers about their plans to deal with the Y2K date change. Make sure you are satisfied with the answers.  Get a copy of your credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus. Experian (800) 682-7654 TransUnion (800) 916-8800  If you have insurance policies, keep copies of the policies and records of the payments you make.  If your credit cards expire after 1/1/00, you may want to carry alternate forms of payment such as cash or checks as a backup in case a retailer's equipment is unable to process the 00 card. Ask retailers how they will accommodate customers who wish to use credit cards when their equipment fails. The Y2K Bill provides for the following: The Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act provides that no Year 2000 (Y2K problem) readiness disclosure (a statement concerning Year 2000 computer compliance information) shall be admissible in any civil action arising under Federal or State law against the maker of the disclosure to prove the accuracy or truth of any year 2000 statement in such disclosure, except: (1) as the basis for a claim for anticipatory breach or repudiation or a similar claim against the maker; and (2) when a court determines that the maker's disclosure amounts to bad faith or fraud or is otherwise unreasonable. As well provides that the maker of such a statement shall not be liable in an action based on an allegedly false, inaccurate, or misleading year 2000 statement unless the claimant establishes that the statement was material and, to the extent that the statement was not a republication of another's original statement, was made with: (1) knowledge of it being false, inaccurate, or misleading; and (2) an intent to deceive or mislead or with reckless disregard of its accuracy. This also precludes maker liability in such an action to the extent that the statement was a republication of another party, unless the claimant establishes that the maker made the statement: (1) with knowledge of it being false, inaccurate, or misleading and with the intent to deceive or mislead; or (2) without notice in such statement that the maker has not verified the contents of the republication or that the maker is not the source of the republication and that the republication is based on information supplied by another person or entity identified in that statement or republication. Including that the maker of a year 2000 statement shall not be liable in an action for defamation or trade disparagement to the extent such action is based on an allegedly false, inaccurate, or misleading statement, unless the claimant establishes that the statement was made with knowledge of it being false or with reckless disregard as to its truth or falsity. Provides that the posting of notice on its year 2000 Internet website in a commercially reasonable manner and for a commercially reasonable time by an entity charged with giving notice about year 2000 processing shall be deemed an adequate mechanism for providing such notice (with an exception). Prohibits year 2000 statements from being interpreted or construed as an amendment to or alteration of a contract or warranty, whether entered into by a public or private party (with exceptions). Authorizes a Federal entity, agency, or authority to expressly designate requests for the voluntary provision of information relating to year 2000 processing as "special year 2000 data gathering requests," thereby protecting information received from such requests from: (1) disclosure to any third party, including under the Freedom of Information Act; and (2) use in any civil action arising under any Federal or State law. Provides exceptions for information obtained through independent sources or in the case of voluntary disclosure. Provides an exemption from antitrust laws for conduct intended to: (1) facilitate responses to correct or avoid a failure of year 2000 processing in a computer system or related software or hardware; or (2) communicate or disclose information to help correct or avoid the effects of year 2000 processing failure. Specifies exclusions from this Act. Makes this Act applicable to: (1) year 2000 statements made on or after July 14, 1998, through July 14, 2001; and (2) year 2000 readiness disclosures made after the date of enactment of this Act through July 14, 2001. Provides for the treatment of previously made readiness disclosures, with exceptions. Authorizes the President's Year 2000 Council to establish and terminate working groups composed of Federal employees who will engage outside organizations in discussions to address Y2K problems and to share information related to year 2000 readiness. Requires the Council to maintain and make available a printed and electronic list of such working groups, as well as a point of contact for each group. Terminates such authority on December 31, 2000. Directs the Administrator of General Services to create, maintain, and promote, until July 14, 2002, a national year 2000 website to assist consumers, small business, and local governments in obtaining information about year 2000 processing of computers, systems, products, and services. Requires a website planning report from the Administrator to specified congressional committees. What kinds of things can be affected by the Y2K bug? Any equipment, machines, devices, and processes that are controlled by computers, computer software or embedded systems (e.g., microchips, microprocessors) that are not Y2K-compliant are susceptible to the Y2K bug. Malfunction of these devices and other things may cause accidents, injuries, or damage to property or equipment if computers, software, or embedded systems cause the machines or equipment to fail, stop, or start unexpectedly. Here are some examples of software and equipment that should be investigated:  centrally-supported server applications  customized software applications  hazard communication databases  personal/home computers including laptops  software for managing payrolls, pensions and benefits, inventories, accounting, medical records, worker exposure records, workers' compensation claims, etc. b) Equipment, machines, and other devices that contain date-dependant controls (e.g., embedded systems, microchips, microprocessors) such as:  biomedical / laboratory equipment  environmental control units  fax machines with date/time logs  heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems  intelligent (e.g., computer-controlled) devices or robotics  machinery/mechanisms monitoring expiry dates  medical devices (including life support systems)  monitoring equipment that test airborne concentrations of hazardous chemicals  printing and packaging equipment  process control equipment (e.g., valve control systems controlling the flow of hazardous chemicals)  security and access control systems (e.g. key cards)  telephone systems and switchboards  underground storage tank monitors  vehicles and electronic systems or micro-processors  video-conferencing systems These lists are not intended to be comprehensive but they give you an idea of how far the Y2K problem extends. Y2K problems will occur only in equipment, machines, devices, etc. that depend on day/date information to operate correctly if the Y2K problem is not identified and corrected within them. Most often, computers are not instructed that "98" is an abbreviation for "1998". Some software instructs the computer that "99" is the highest possible value, to be followed by a return to "00". Some software instructs the computer that 99 is a number, that should be followed by 100. Some software does not provide any explicit instruction to the computer about what comes after "99". In some cases, software does command the computer to treat "98" as an abbreviation of "1998". Usually this instruction is performed by inserting the characters "19" in front of the "98". Other types of software tell the computer to add 1900 + 98. There are cases when the addition method will work as well in 2000 as it does now, IF the software tells the computer that 99 is a number, followed by 100. In these instances, adding the number 1900 to the number 100 will correctly produce the number, 2000. In many cases, though, the software instructions to the computer will result in an incorrect year of "00", or "1900", or "19100", or will fail to produce any answer at all. Sorts, comparisons, and calculations performed with incorrect year values will result in a variety of unexpected consequences. Depending on the type of software and hardware, these failures could result in garbled reports or they could cause computers to crash. 2000 is a Leap Year and there will be a February 29th, as decreed in about 45 BC, and not altered by calendar changes instituted by the Papal Bull of 1582 and the Calendar Act of 1752. Some software does not recognize 2000 as a leap year, and can cause a variety of problems. There are many websites that document the rules for calculating leap years. What types of computer functions are affected? A wide variety of computers are affected by Year 2000 problems, ranging from personal computers for home use, to mainframes that run huge corporations, and everything in between. Workstations, client/server systems, networking hardware, processors embedded in machinery, the globally interconnected "system of systems" - none of these are immune to Y2k problems. Hardware, "firmware", operating system software, and applications can all be incapable of handling the Year 2000. Simply upgrading hardware does not cure problem applications running on that hardware; and compliant software cannot run if the hardware crashes. Any activity performed by any type of computer involving dates after 1999 is at risk, such as software applications that perform forward planning, financial calculations, processing of taxes, wages, benefits, scheduling, sell-by and expiry dates, school and medical records, retail transactions, reservation systems, transportation, communications -- there is no aspect of our lives that is untouched by computers. In addition, almost all food processing, manufacturing, power generation and transmission, water and waste treatment, and all the conveniences of modern life are conducted by computerized automation. The software and hardware that run electric power plants are as susceptible to Year 2000 problems as the utility company's metering and billing systems. Date Expansion The safest solution is to use full four-digit years rather than abbreviations in all dates. Most data entry procedures can be written with instructions for correctly interpreting two-digit year entry, while displaying, storing, and outputting dates with all four digits, and can allow the user to enter four digits if required. Date expansion is unambiguous and will work correctly until 9999, if the hardware and operating systems allow. Date expansion has the disadvantage of requiring changes to the storage space allotted for data, conversion of all existing date data, modification of screens, reports, and other outputs, changes in the software code to handle dates correctly, and the possibility that data-exchange partners may not be able to accept dates in expanded format. Date Windowing Two-digit year values can be windowed, by assuming that the year must fall within a 100-year range. This method is essentially how abbreviated dates work right now -- the 100-year period is assumed to be from 1900 to 1999, inclusively. If the 100-year range assumption is from 1950 to 2049, and correct instructions are written in the software, the software will perform date processing correctly until 2050. The date window can be set to any 100-year period, or can be interpreted according to the current year (e.g. from 10 years before this year to 89 years after this year). Date windowing requires no changes to data storage, no conversion of old data, and no changes to screens or reports. Date windowing has a number of disadvantages, however. The code to perform the interpretation of dates must be written very carefully, keeping in mind the varying requirements of all of the applications that may use or interact with the dates. Within a single application, an employee birth date may require a window range entirely in the past, while a forecasting function will require a range entirely in the future. All users of the application, and any other application that may share the data, must be cognizant of the assumptions made in every circumstance. At some point, most windowing techniques will require further modifications to continue to function. Windowing is inherently ambiguous, and should not be used in applications requiring the exchange of data across systems. Date Setback There are two types of date setback techniques, one requiring the manipulation of data, and the other involving the system clock itself. The year data can be set back by 28 years (or 56; the calendar repeats itself every 28 years), making "98" appear to be "70" (or "42"). This approach is by far the riskiest, as it involves changes to both code and data, requires alteration of existing date values, and requires manipulation of date values at input to subtract the setback, and at output to restore the amount of the setback. Setting the computer's system clock back by 28 (or 56) years is sometimes an acceptable temporary remedy, for a stand-alone device that has no inputs or outputs from other systems, and if the clock permits a system date of "71" or earlier. Caveat, a company known as Turn of the Century Solution (TOCS) has received a patent from the U.S. Patent Office regarding a specific type of date setback procedure. The patent description mentions the prior existence of a 28-year date setback technique, so it is unclear what specific methods or procedures have actually been patented. What are the consequences of the year 2000 problem? It isn't possible to predict right now how many computer systems won't get fixed in time, or how badly the failed systems will affect our lives. Nobody really knows whether most people will muddle through somehow, or if civilization will collapse. There is likely to be wide variations in the quantity and the quality of remediation efforts; and geographical differences in the impact of failed computer systems on society. Many people tend to be myopic in their understanding of the extent to which "first-world" technology relies on computers. To date, an estimated 25 billion or so processors have been sold. This is 3-4 processors for every person alive on Earth. On average, many thousands of lines of code have been written per processor. The amount of communication between processors is beyond estimating. All of this has the potential to lead to chain-reactions of failures that are stranger than any fiction. There is a very common tendency for us to say, "I don't know what all might happen, therefore nothing much (or a huge amount) will happen." In truth, the future cannot be predicted even in broad terms. The social consequences of possible widespread computer failures are beyond the scope of this FAQ. Date Rollover On many PCs, the clock will go from 1999-12-31 to 1980-01-04. On some PCs, it may look like the clock rolled over correctly, but after you turn it off and back on, the date will be wrong. Most computers will remember the correct date after being manually set, although some older PCs cannot be forced into 2000 no matter what you do. DO NOT set your PC system date ahead without first taking safety precautions to protect your PC, software, and data. Leap Year 2000 is a Leap Year and there will be a February 29th, so there will also be 366 days in 2000. Some software does not recognize these days, and could cause a variety of problems; incorrect date rollover on 2000-02-29, 2000-03-01, 2000-12-31, and 2001-01-01; and day-of-week errors after February of 2000. Inaccurate Time-keeping A small number of PCs are unable to maintain the correct date and time consistently after 2000. A test to identify this defect, known as the Crouch-Echlin Effect, and a possible software remedy are being tested at this time. This FAQ will be updated as more information becomes available. Peripheral Devices There are no known Year 2000 problems with printers, modems, scanners, or other devices commonly connected to PCs. In some cases, driver software may have to be updated. Vendors generally provide information for specific models. Setting the system date ahead for testing may have adverse consequences; at worst, the PC may crash and become unbootable. Licensed software and passwords may expire; forward-dated records may be generated, or "too-old" records deleted. Processing centres should test on isolated systems. However, it is usually safe to test a stand-alone PC by booting to DOS from a clean system (bootable) floppy disk, and running no applications -- after making and testing a backup of the hard drive. There are a number of step-by-step guides to safe testing procedures. There are a number of software test tools to automate the process, and some that promise to fix the incorrect dates automatically. How can I make my PC and Software compliant? Start getting accustomed to using the "YYYY-MM-DD" date format now. In Windows, set the default date format to year/month/day order, with 4-digit year and leading zeros in month and day. Most current Windows software applications use this default setting; so many applications will use this format as soon as the Windows default is set correctly. However, all applications should still be checked, and the date default set if necessary. In addition to familiarizing yourself with this date format, applications that truncate date fields or use date values incorrectly will be easier to identify. Ask vendors about Y2k compliance before buying new software or upgrades. Many of the sites listed below provide compliance information, known problems, or safe testing procedures for some common software packages. Yes. The Global Positioning System (GPS) week number will roll over from week 1023 to week 0 in August 1999. The clock on some Macintosh computers cannot be set after 2019. Asteroid 1997 XF11 will miss Earth in 2028. UNIX has an overflow problem in 2038. Personal Preparation Personal preparation can be as simple as stocking up on candles, food staples, potable water, and batteries; or as all-encompassing as moving to a rural location and becoming as self-sufficient as possible. There are as many opinions on how to ensure personal safety, as there are online resources for every level of preparation. Several of the sites listed below are good starting places for individual planning efforts. Obtaining paper copies of important records; writing to service and utility providers requesting information on their compliance and contingency plans; making sure to have some cash on hand, extra prescription drugs, and a full fuel tank in the car -- these are some cheap, easy, very basic precautions everyone should take. Raising Awareness Write letters of enquiry to government representatives and agencies, service and utility providers, all the businesses and organizations you rely on to maintain your lifestyle. Do not forget to ask questions of your employer! Several of the URLs listed below include sample letter templates that you can use. Talk to your family and friends; they might think you are crazy, or they might invite you to visit their rural farm over Christmas and New Year's of 1999-2000! Bibliography: Word Count: 3514
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