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...
