Y2k Essay, Research Paper

Y2k? The Big Issue Abstract and Executive Overview What is the Y2K issue? This paper will depict the jobs associated with Y2K and how Industry, Government, and Small Businesses are managing the job. The first chapter introduces the Y2K issues. Chapter 2 will specify how this affects the different concerns and Government bureaus. Chapter 3 will develop an overall program on how to assail the job and recommendations. The bulk of this paper will develop a program on how each of the concerns and Government bureaus should assail the Y2K jobs. There should be a logical attack to be after how to look into, trial, validate, and if required, develop a eventuality program for Y2K. The occupation is to either signifier a squad of forces or engage a confer withing house to measure your state of affairs. The squad should use the undermentioned stairss: measure the system, restitute the system if necessary, formalize the redevelopment if necessary, implement the redevelopment if necessary, prove the redevelopment if necessary, and eventually hold a eventuality program in the event that restituting the system is non executable and/or is excessively late. The lone necessary or required action is to measure the system. This will be discussed in item in my paper. The existent issue is that less than a twelvemonth remains before the twelvemonth 2000 jobs are here. The recommendation is to get down working this issue now. It may be excessively late, but that is when the eventuality program comes in ready to hand. Table OF CONTENTS 1. What are the Y2K Issues? 2. What impacts are they? rhenium to Government, Industry, and Small Business? 3. What can Government, Industry, and Small Business Do to Battle the Y2K Issues? 4. Recommendation 5. Mentions 6. Glossary Chapter 1 What are the Y2K Issues? There are really more day of the months than merely the twelvemonth 2000 day of the month. There are day of the months that can impact the leap twelvemonth algorithms ; Julian day of the months, financial twelvemonth day of the months, calendar day of the months, and ASCII codification day of the months. The top day of the months that need to be checked are: 1. 9 September 1999. This day of the month can be read in codification as 9999. In computing machine linguistic communication, specifically ASCII codification, this translates into a petition for the processor to halt processing. 2. 1 October 1999. This is the start of the new Fiscal twelvemonth for the Government ( FY00 ) . The algorithm for this may non be able to travel from FY99 to FY00. 3. 31 December 1999. At midnight, the day of the month axial rotations over to 1 January 2000. This job can be in two countries. The first is in the BIOS? s that exist for most desktop machines. The BIOS? s usually contain the clock and day of the month informations. The operator updates this information, when the system is foremost turned on and is continuously updated by the computing machine from so on. The job is that older versions of BIO package recorded the day of the month in two twelvemonth figures ( 99, alternatively of 1999 ) so that one time the day of the month axial rotations into the twelvemonth 2000, the BIOS? s can non understand the peal of the twelvemonth and moves it back to 14 Jan 80, the default twelvemonth day of the month. The other job is in the application package that uses the biennial day of the month. The application package uses algorithms to turn over over the day of the months and can non turn over to the twelvemonth 2000 day of the month. It usually has to be manually input to acquire to the new day of the month. 4. 28 February 2000. At midnight, the day of the month should turn over over to 29 February 2000. This is determined in the package by an algorithm that checks to see if the current twelvemonth is a leap twelvemonth. If it is a leap twelvemonth so it should turn over to 29 February 2000, if it can non find the leap twelvemonth, so it will leap to 1 March 2000. 5. 29 February 2000. This is about the same job as 28 February 2000. It will seek to cipher the fact it is a leap twelvemonth and turn over the day of the month to 1 March 2000. If it can non find that it is the leap twelvemonth, it will either travel to 2 March 2000 or it will supply an wrong day of the month. There are several other day of the months that are of import, based on each application package bundle, and demands. Examples are, a bank computing machine uses COBOL package that does non cipher the day of the months good, FORTRAN package used in scientific research does non make day of the months good, and older versions of Microsoft package used the biennial figure day of the months. The different application package bundles that are available for computing machines are get downing to repair the twelvemonth 2000 job in the following alteration and/or update. The jobs that are being encountered are that the updates may non be compatible with the informations that goes with the application package. An illustration is that Microsoft Access 2.0 is non twelvemonth 2000 compliant. To upgrade to a compliant version, the original informations associated with Access 2.0 will non run on the upgrade version. In add-on, the upgrade Access will non run on the old versions of Microsoft Windows. Therefore, extra jobs are get downing to come into focal point with the twelvemonth 2000 issue. Another issue is all the databases that are used. Relational databases use day of the month Fieldss as portion of wildcard actions, used as screening designation, as grouping actions, and as portion of day-to-day designation. Some specific illustrations are: simple databases, such as the window adventurer allow you to see and screen files in a date/time field. If this day of the month field were merely two figures, so it would falsely screen the files ( twelvemonth 00 would be foremost instead than last ) . Another illustration is a big database that is used to fit names with references and charge statements. This database would necessitate to flag day of the months with the charge statements. If the day of the months were wrong or non sorted right, so the charge statements would be invalidated. As discussed, there are several issues when covering with Y2K. These issues have a direct impact on both Government and Industry. Chapter 2 What impacts are they? rhenium to Government, Industry, and Small Business? There are several impacts to Government, Industry, and Small Business. Dates that can impact the leap twelvemonth algorithms ; Julian day of the months, financial twelvemonth day of the months, calendar day of the months, and ASCII codification day of the months. These day of the months were discussed in chapter 1. Now we will discourse the branchings to the new day of the months. For the Government, the day of the months will hold a major impact across the board. Every Government bureau, from Federal to City, will be impacted. The Federal Government uses computing machines on a day-to-day footing and without them, the Federal Government would non be able to run. Some specific illustrations are in the Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, and the Department of Justice. The Department of Commerce utilizes computing machines to run the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association ( NOAA ) systems that are used to trail Hurricanes. The job is that several of the computing machines are used to log different informations and usage date/time stomping with that information. This information is subsequently analyzed to seek and map hurricanes for the hereafter. If the Y2K issues are non resolved, of import informations will be lost. The Department of Defense besides uses computing machines to a really big extent. This is particularly true for the DOD big complex machinery used to support the state. There are really few parts of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines that do non utilize computing machines. Computers are the anchor to DOD and without them, there is a existent fright that our armed forces would non be able to support this state. The Department of Justice has an even worse job. They are charged with maintaining path of felons and federal indictments across the state. Because of the complexness of the Torahs, if the computing machines used to maintain path of indictments and condemnable records are non Y2K compliant, so the Justice system could hold felons cleared of any incorrect making because of a simple day of the month issue. It is good known that if the day of the month or reference were incorrect on an indictment or a hunt warrant, anything found because of the indictment or warrant would non be used in tribunal. Industry has the same basic jobs that the Government would hold. They rely on computing machines in about every facet of the concern. From robotic assembly lines to employee paysheet, all of industry relies on the computing machine to run its twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours operation. The job that both industry and Government have is that there was no eventuality to the Y2K issue. Both industry and Government have several backup systems. An illustration is that major Bankss will hold the chief frame computing machine in one location and a hot backup in a wholly different location. Take Nations Bank. Nations Bank may hold its primary mainframe computing machine, for all its checking histories, here in town. There is a hot backup ( a hot backup is a chief frame computing machine that records the same exact information that the mainframe computing machine is entering, but it does non manage any minutess, merely enter the information ) that is located in a different portion of the state, say Colorado. In this manner, if a major hurricane were to lay waste to Tampa, the hot backup would come on line return over the duty of the mainframe. In this manner, critical information would non be lost. This was all thought out old ages before, but non Y2K. Y2K would impact both mainframes ( the primary and the backup ) and all the informations would be corrupted. The job with little concern is that it relies on the computing machine to make many of its undertakings that employees used to make. In little concern, people were employed to manage paysheet, selling, office direction, files, record maintaining, and profit/loss legers. These people were replaced with the coming of the computing machine. Now any little concern could run without minimum employees. The office director could now manage paysheet, selling, files, records, and legers right on the computing machine. The computing machine became the cardinal piece of equipment for the little concern. Without the computing machine, little concerns could non remain in operation. Look at a little concern that provides hearing AIDSs to the general populace. Besides the paysheet, this little concern will maintain all its clients histories in a simple database. This database will be used to advise the concern when the hearing assistance needs serving, extra hearing trials should be done, replacing batteries, and payment agendas. This is merely the tip of the database. The database would besides be used to direct out circulars on new engineering, price reductions, and will function as the concern mailing lists. Without this computing machine, the little concern would necessitate to engage extra forces and return to paper and pencil to run. Chapter 3 What can Government, Industry, and Small Business Do to Battle the Y2K Issues? For both Government and Industry, it will non be a job to battle Y2K. There is work already being done to rectify the jobs. Both bureaus, through confer withing bureaus and internal working groups, have developed a series of programs to battle the Y2K issue. The standard process is to foremost make an stock list and appraisal on the bureau. After the appraisal is done, a redevelopment program is developed to restitute the different systems. After redevelopment is completed, the system is placed into the proof stage, where it is tested utilizing the different Y2K day of the months to guarantee that no jobs are encountered. After the testing is completed and the proof is verified, so the execution stage is started. The execution stage is to implement the system into action, and get down watching the system during the existent crossing over day of the months. The cost to execute all of the programs and stages are high. On most

major DOD systems, the cost ranges from $ 100 Thousand to over $ 5 Million. For industry, their costs are about the same. It does non count if the bureau does it internally or hires advisers to execute the work. The costs are usually high. These costs are absorbed in industry and/or in the Government by the consumer and/or taxpayer. Industry will go through the costs to the consumer by increasing its monetary value on the merchandise. The Government will either increase revenue enhancements or modify the budget to acquire the necessary financess to guarantee Y2K conformity. The existent job lies with little concern. The programs and stages that were developed by industry and Government must besides be accomplished by little concern. The job is that little concern does non hold the money to use on the Y2K issue. Small concerns do non hold the operating expense or capital to afford to prove its systems and guarantee that Y2K jobs do non be in its machine. Since most little concerns do non trust on advisers and do non hold a computing machine expert on the paysheet, so little concerns must trust on the package companies to guarantee that the computing machine is Y2K compliant. Since they do non hold the financess to seek and do their systems Y2K compliant, so the little concern must trust on Macintosh, Microsoft, and other big package companies to guarantee that the package is compliant. This becomes a existent issue for the little concern. The major package companies have jobs with guaranting that the package they are selling is Y2K compliant. An illustration is that Microsoft Windows 98 may be compliant, every bit far as the Y2K issue is concerned. But any other application package that is used with Windows 98 may non be compliant, doing the system non-compliant. Microsoft can non be held responsible for other package bundles built by other package companies. In add-on, most package companies will non back up older versions of its package. An illustration is that Microsoft will non back up Windows version 3.1. This is based on the handiness of newer versions of Windows being available to the consumer. So where does this go forth the little concern? The little concern is in a delicate state of affairs. Recommendation The recommendation for little concern is to work through the chamber of commercialism and pool the resources that each little concern has to acquire the support it needs. There is Federal and Local aid available to assist little concern guarantee that the Y2K issue is resolved prior to the existent day of the months. The existent job is that if the little concern does non acknowledge that it has a job, so it will non work to repair the Y2K issue in clip. By uniting their resources and working with the local Chamberss, a web of advisers could work together to repair the job before the existent Y2K day of the months have come. The merely other option would be to pass the money to travel through the same programs and phases that the Government and Industry goes through to repair the Y2K issue. This cost would be excessively high for little concern. The concluding option would be for the little concern to traverse his fingers and hope for the best. This would be the last option for the bourgeois to work with. Mentions 1. Computer Design and Architecture, L. Howard Pollard, 1990, Prentice-Hall, Inc. 2. Software technology, Roger S. Pressman, 1987, McGraw-Hill, Inc. 3. Assembly Language, Jeff Duntemann, 1992, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. 4. Assembly Language for the Personal computer, John Socha and Peter Norton, 1992, Brady Publishing 5. Advanced Assembly Language, Allen L. Wyatt, Sr. , 1992, Que Corporation 6. 8-Bit microprocessor and Peripheral Data, Motorola, Inc. , 1983, Motorola, Inc. 7. Organizational Behavior Human Behavior at Work, John W. Newstrom and Keith Davis, 1997, McGraw-Hill 8. Management Information Systems, Kenneth C. Laudon and Jane P. Laudon, 1998, Prentice Hall, Inc. 9. Understanding Business, Nickels * McHugh * McHugh, 1987, Times Mirror/Mosby College Publishing 10. Undertaking Plan Document developed by the Best Practices Subcommittee of the Interagency Committee, Unknown writers and day of the month of publication. 11. Year 2000 Management Plan, March 1997, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, ( C3I ) 12. Year 2000, Biting the Silver Bullet, Peter de Jager, 1/13/97, Internet paper. 13. Agencies Year 2000 Repair Pace Criticized, Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Stephen Barr, Washington Post, 3 May 1998. 14. Department of defense to Share Early Warning Data to Stem Y2K Failures in Russia, China, Pamela Hess, 5 May 1998, Defense Information and Electronics Report. 15 Year 2000 Bug could Spook Russians, Author Unknown, Washington Times, 5 May 1998. Glossary 1. DoD – Department of Defense 2. Y2k – Year 2000 3. C3I – Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence

Computers have become the anchor of the universe today. Is at that place a clip bomb easy clicking down indoors of the computing machines that run everything from your laundry machine to Wall Street? & # 8220 ; The twelvemonth 2000 bug is a defect in the scheduling of embedded french friess in most electronic devices & # 8221 ; ( Outwiting 2 ) . These french friess merely calculate the day of the month in the stoping 2 figures of the twelvemonth. For case, the day of the month 1-1-1999 in the computing machine comes out 1-1-99. & # 8220 ; When the twelvemonth 2000 comes about, the computing machines will believe that it is the twelvemonth 1900 & # 8243 ; ( 2 ) . Any plan or system that relies on day of the months to execute certain maps, such as ciphering ages, clip periods, or paysheets is at hazard of crashing on the shot of midnight. Programmers in the 1970 & # 8217 ; s were salvaging a batch of infinite in scheduling by merely utilizing the last 2 figures of the twelvemonth. They had no penetration into the job they were making by cutting this scheduling corner. The justification for cutting this corner was two crease. First, think of all of the cryptography and coding clip they saved if the day of the month is calculated over 1 million times in a individual calculation. Second, in those early old ages, disc storage infinite was at a premium and badly limited by today & # 8217 ; s criterions. It was of import to do the best available usage of storage infinite. For this ground that they entered merely the last 2 figures of the twelvemonth in the old scheduling. Because merely day of the month sensitive scheduling is at hazard, nevertheless if or when the Y2K bug hits, the harm will be minimum at most.

For those people who plan to travel to the state and sell all of their ownerships in order to acquire off from the consequence, do non go forth merely yet. The twelvemonth 2000 bug will non be the terminal of the universe. Many think that they will get down a rural community and it will be their small Garden of Eden. If the twelvemonth 2000 bug work stoppages, it will strike everything everyplace, even in rural Montana. The jobs will be cosmopolitan.

Peoples believe that they can trust on insurance to cover their assets are confronting another job created by the twelvemonth 2000 bug. Insurance companies are naming all of their current clients informing them that their coverage does non include losingss due to the twelvemonth 2000 bug. However, attorneies and jurisprudence houses are pitching up for what they believe will be a windfall, based on millenary bug claims

Worldwide surveys show that companies are passing more of their information engineering budget for rectifying possible jobs in their computing machine systems caused by the twelvemonth 2000 bug. Although 19 % of the current information engineering budget is spent towards rectifying the twelvemonth 2000 job, it is expected to be increased to 23 % by the 2nd one-fourth of & # 8216 ; 99 ( Weil 2 ) .

This may be excessively late to forestall many jobs some say. Many concerns are either upgrading or have already upgraded their computing machine systems to twelvemonth 2000 criterions. Different Fieldss of concern are further along the way to going twelvemonth 2000 compliant. & # 8220 ; Banking is good prepared for the twelvemonth 2000. There are a few industries such as, nutrient service and some authorities subdivisions, nevertheless, that are sick prepared for the twelvemonth 2000 & # 8243 ; ( 2 ) . Sleep safely at dark, cognizing that your money is safe in the current banking systems.

Even though the authorities and some nutrient service companies are behind on updating for the twelvemonth 2000, they are working around the clock to accomplish twelvemonth 2000 conformity before the New Year work stoppages. If the authorities fails to upgrade to the twelvemonth 2000, they will hold a secondary program. People ballot certain functionaries into office in order to manage specific jobs such as the twelvemonth 2000 bug.

Worried about what the twelvemonth 2000 bug will make to the United States? Clinging to one comforting idea, & # 8220 ; Things will be worse merely about everyplace else in the universe & # 8221 ; ( McMahon 1 ) . Studies show the United States among the most extremely prepared states in the universe. & # 8220 ; As far as the universe is concerned, many states are non every bit prepared as the United States & # 8221 ; ( Weil 1 ) . With the U.S. the most prepared states include, Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden. The least prepared states include major names such as Afghanistan, China, Pakistan, Romania, and Russia. Many fear that atomic power workss in Russia may be at hazard. Do we still retrieve Chernobyl? The good intelligence is that no 1 believes that the Y2K bug will by chance establish an onslaught of atomic missiles. In our planetary economic system, reverses to fiscal establishments from Asia to Africa to South America can impact the U.S. economic system and Americans, in many unforeseeable ways. They are all really of import pieces of our economic system. If these states go under, we might hold another economic catastrophe like the stock market clang of 1929. The authorities has placed many safeties in order to protect the people & # 8217 ; s money and there is a general premise that with the authorities, large concern in the most of import industries is doing a significant attempt to protect U.S. involvement abroad.

With the twelvemonth 2000 nearing many possible jobs may originate. Luckily for us in Chicago, New Zealand will be among the first to observe the Year 2000. At that clip it will be 6 AM December 31, in Chicago. This gives us 18 hours to larn to some extent what the jobs will be. All of these jobs depend on a twosome of factors. & # 8220 ; The jobs that the twelvemonth 2000 may do all depend upon the preparedness of the people that are perchance affected by it & # 8221 ; ( Outwiting 3 ) . By the clip New Years comes everything will be in order and ready for the alteration of the millenary, and the jobs caused by this defect in early scheduling will be minimum.

Plants Cited

Ferrara, Matthew. & # 8220 ; Outwiting the Y2K Bug. & # 8221 ; 14 Aug 1998. Online. Internet. 8 Mar 1999.

McMahon, Colin and Goering, Laurie. & # 8220 ; Many states are unwilling or unable to repair possible computing machine sufferings, go forthing U.S. in hazard. Chicago Tribune 21 March 1999:1.

Weil, Nancy. & # 8220 ; Y2K study finds broad spread breaks likely. & # 8221 ; 6 Aug 1998. On-line Internet. 8 March 1999. Available Internet: www.pcworld.com

Ferrara, Matthew. & # 8220 ; Outwiting the Y2K Bug. & # 8221 ; 14 Aug 1998. Online. Internet. 8 Mar 1999.

McMahon, Colin and Goering, Laurie. & # 8220 ; Many states are unwilling or unable to repair possible computing machine sufferings, go forthing U.S. in hazard. Chicago Tribune 21 March 1999:1.

Weil, Nancy. & # 8220 ; Y2K study finds broad spread breaks likely. & # 8221 ; 6 Aug 1998. On-line Internet. 8 March 1999. Available Internet