Y2k Essay, Research Paper

The Y2K job: A planetary menace or a concern chance?

It is a twosome of proceedingss before the midnight on 31st of December 1999. A immense rabble of people is standing on the Times Square in New York. Many of them are intoxicated, everyone is happy, everyone is singing and dancing. Dressed up, in good temper, the people are waiting for the twelvemonth 2000. Then the last minute of the twelvemonth shows up on the big clock. Peoples start to countdown? 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 & # 8230 ; Suddenly, the electricity collapses. There? s dark all about. Peoples start to panic. Fear and pandemonium starts to distribute all along the East seashore. As the clip goes on, upset and confusion regulations in the whole United States, in the whole World.

This was one of legion revelatory visions of the New Year? s twenty-four hours. As the thought of the Y2K job foremost appeared, these visions were more common and more frequently to see in the newspapers, magazines and Television shows. The millenium bug was ne’er officially discovered and described. It merely showed up as a conjectural thing. Then the trials begun. Almost cipher paid attending to it that clip. First in the 90`s it has become a announced menace. Large concerns, authoritiess, ground forcess, but besides families and little stores has started to worry. The Y2K has become a symbol of upcoming electronic pandemonium.

The millenium job definitions vary from one to another. The really basic refers to older computing machines who used two-digit convention to stand for the twelvemonth. Harmonizing to MITRE Y2K Team this showed to be a existent job in the late 60`s, when the IBM 360 had troubles in handling of the day of the months past 31st of December 1969, so they started fall ining after midnight local clip. The other twenty-four hours IBM recommend to put a different day of the month to gull the computing machines temporarily ( Frederickson, J. 1999 ) . This job was by chance caused by the builders and coders of micro chips, computing machines and package, because they have used the two-digits to stand for the twelvemonth. This thing was implemented to about all electronic devices which used or displayed day of the month. ( Christie, B. 1999 )

There is a simple illustration of the possible two-digit mismatch. A computing machine has worked out the value of money transferred in or out of a money history based on the undermentioned simple computation.

VALUE = ( YearNextYear? YearRightNow ) x $ 1000

If the conjectural computing machine uses a four-digit day of the months it will reassign this sum into the peculiar history.

VALUE = ( 2000? 1999 ) x $ 1000 = $ 1000

If the computing machine is non Y2K compliant, the system will debit the history.

VALUE = ( 00? 99 ) x $ 1000 = MINUS ( – ) $ 99,00

This is a presentation of the jobs that millenium bug could do. Not merely package but besides hardware constituents of the computing machines are controlled by day of the month. So the jobs could happen besides as a hardware failure. ( Christie, B. 1999 )

The twelvemonth 2000, as it is a leap twelvemonth, may convey more of the debatable state of affairss. Another job is that in this twelvemonth there is an extra day of the month? 29th of February. Harmonizing to John Koskien of the Y2K`s Council? s Information Coordination Center the bugs would impact largely package. He said that there are legion ways to do clear what is a leap twelvemonth, there is a opportunity of some plans missing the codification to cipher the last twenty-four hours of February. This could impact Bankss, paysheets and involvement calculating. ( Broder, C. 2000 ) .

Another job that could happen is in the figure of hebdomads. About every twelvemonth has 53 hebdomads, in some of them 51 or 52 are 7-day hebdomads. With a 364-day old ages the figure of hebdomads would be precisely 52. Unfortunately, as the old ages have 365 yearss, none of them has less than 53 hebdomads. This twelvemonth has one hebdomad more. Such event appears every 28 twelvemonth, so it means that the last 54-week twelvemonth was 1972, long before the today package and hardware systems were developed. Allegro Consultants, Inc. , who has been working on the Y2K jobs for many old ages, claimed that many plans have coded merely 53-week old ages. Harmonizing to this company, some plans restrict the user to come in a figure of hebdomad no higher than 53. Another proposed job is that range-checking programming linguistic communications like Pascal could abort or utilize wrong information. This could take to failures and even amendss.

The jobs that could hold occurred are of different size and earnestness. From a simple malfunction of an old dismay clock wireless to a atomic plait meltdown. Because there are day of the months used about in every system, in every computing machine the Y2K should hold affected a figure of different systems. The first Y2K indicant was a computing machine misread of the day of the month, when the 00 would look as a 1st of January 1900. This wouldn? t be such a large job, but the computing machine package, particularly accounting and statistics package, could cipher false day of the month and consecutively malfunction. Such package is used in many establishments like airdromes, infirmaries, Bankss, authoritiess and ground forces. It is non hard to conceive of what a package failure could make to an airdrome or a infirmary. As nowadays these are wired together via the Internet or another web, the electronic apocalypse could easy distribute along. The jobs were important and clear and there was a good ground to put to protection.

However the ground was good, the investings were good inordinate. Harmonizing to Robin Guenier, the executive manager of Taskforce 2000, the cost of all this might hold exceeded 400 billion British lbs sterling. He claims that merely the World War II could be

more and that this sum of money is adequate to pay up a large portion of the developing states debt. He besides says that observers are doubting the necessity of these investings or even that all this was a fraud. ( Guenier, B. 2000 ) A truly serious attending was paid but the money spent were inordinate.

During the twelvemonth 1999 the millenium bug has become more of a concern affair. Mr. Guenier claims that the media did non pay attending to the substance of the job. He says that the existent thing was tiring for the intelligence. The media showed involvement merely when the first myths evolved. Suddenly, there were narratives about planes crashing, atomic catastrophes and detonating microwaves. None of the experts was able to do an exact anticipation, but the myth was alive ( Genier, B. 2000 ) . As the clip went on about in every newspaper was a little topographic point where the staying yearss were shown.

Businesss smelled a great chance and a large run started. Y2k was a subject of Television arguments, newspaper articles, shows and advertizements. All this started to do force per unit area particularly on computing machine users. The xanthous label demoing that this package bundle or this new computing machine is Y2K ready has become a criterion. A figure of proving plans and survival ushers for the new millenium appeared on the market and enjoyed a high clients involvement. The Internet was bombed with information about what atrocious can go on to an old computing machine or an old microwave. All this created a great chance for package and hardware manufacturers.

The most of import clients were the establishment like Bankss, insurance companies, electrical workss, but besides authoritiess and ground forcess. This was a rather a spot of the market portion.

The cost of the readying varied from one to another. British Telecom has spent L350 million, non a really large portion of their budget. The top 100 companies in Britain has spent on mean L60 million ( Guenier, B. 2000 ) . The military readying were more interesting. Russian ground forces had to watch a big figure of atomic payloads and invested $ 4 million. The US ground forces in a similar state of affairs had invested about $ 4 billion. The estimated cost of the Y2K preparedness in USA was $ 100 billion ( Time, 2000 ) .

Consequently, as the day of the month changed, a inquiry showed up? What did truly go on?

Well, there is unfortunately no complete study yet of what happened after midnight. It is because the establishments that are supervising systems are waiting for the 29th of February to give complete studies. But one thing is for certain, the impacts were merely minor. No plane clangs or public violences or atomic leaks were reported. The jubilations were happy and without jobs all over the universe. There was a large show in every larger metropolis. Red Square in Moscow was crowded with people to see the elephantine pyrotechnics and Russia? s new impermanent president Vladimir Putin. In Paris 11 Ferris wheels were running all dark, In Giza, Egypt, the celebrated instrumentalist and showman Jean Michael Jarre used the pyramids for a dramatic visible radiation show. In London the jubilations were a spot of a pandemonium. The elephantine Ferris wheel, which was built for this dark wasn? T finished yet. The pyrotechnics started a spot late, because the Queen wasn? T able to put up the ignition right. In Times Square in New York two million people met to see the ball bead and to hold a large party ( Time, 2000 ) . The birth of the new twelvemonth was out of the blue unagitated and without important jobs.

It is difficult to make up one’s mind whether the millenium bug was a existent job or merely a fraud. The Y2K tsar John Koskien was invited to the White House to observe the triumph. The interpreter said that the corporations have spent the money moderately compared to the earnestness of this job ( Krebs, B. 2000 ) . So there is nil to worry approximately. Harmonizing to the functionaries, the investings were necessary. The states that did non invested such amounts have besides survived the twelvemonth rollover. The experts claim that these states are non so much dependant on the electronic systems and a possible failure wouldn? Ts have such impact as it could hold had in the US. This might be true, but the subject is still unfastened.

The Y2K job was interpreted in many ways, but about no 1 was able to give an exact anticipation. But it showed the whole universe that there is non a clear relationship between the computing machines and the society. Harmonizing to Bill Guenier, the society is likely non so dependent on the engineering than experts thought. The people are non populating in the digital age yet. The people has to understand these affairs, or more jobs will demo up when the digital age arrives ( Guenier, B ) . 2000 ) .

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North, G. ( No day of the month ) . The twelvemonth 2000 Problem: The twelvemonth the Earth stands still. [ WWW Document ] . URL [ 2000, February 9 ]

Hey, You In That Bunker, You Can Come Out Now! ( 2000, January 1 ) . Time, p. 54+ .

Kadlec, D. ( 1999, December 13 ) . Y2 Buy Stockss: If nil happens at midnight 2000, the lone people panicking will be those who sold abruptly. Time, p. 120.

The Y2K Bug: Do We Still Havve To Worry? ( 1999, November 29 ) Time, p. 64+ .

Stone, M. ( 2000, February 11 ) . Y2K Patent Owners Seek Bucks. [ WWW Document ] . URL [ 2000, February 14 ]

Microsoft. ( no day of the month ) . The Year 2000 Challenge: A Guide for Home Computers. [ WWW Document ] [ 2000, February 14 ]

Western Australia Government ( 1999, December 16 ) . What Happens if you Don`t Repair It? [ WWW Document ] URL [ 2000, February 14 ]