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Y2K . . . don't
panic
IT'S all over, no need to panic anymore. Last week I received word that the Y2K
or millennium bug will not strike until 2048.
So we can all relax and think about the next biggest problem that is going to hit on
January 1, 2000 . . . the worst hangover of the century (that is the 20th for those who
know the 21st does not begin until January 1, 2001). My source for announcing a ceasefire
on Y2K is not impeccable, unfortunately.
A correspondent to an e-mail discussion group, of which I am a member, asked what did Y2K
stand for exactly. Quickly, several people, including me, wrote back to say: Y is Year, 2
is 2, and K is for kilo or thousand, as in kilometres or kilograms.
Unhappily I added "as in kilobytes" and that is when the real nerds showed
themselves. They fired in messages saying that the calculation Y2K = Y2 x 1000 = 2000 was
wrong. If it was K as in kilobytes, then we would be dealing in the binary mathematics of
computers that makes a kilobyte equal to 1024 bytes, not 1000.
So, Y2K = Y2 x 1024 = 2048, meaning our grandchildren or great grandchildren will have to
deal with the bug. And they are welcome to it.
The bug has been the biggest growth industry of 1998. Opinions about its effects are as
various as the types of people on the Web. They range from one extreme of "nothing
will happen" to the other of "all social order will break down and have to be
rescued by a global government led by Mikhail Gorbachev".
However, even if you believe the 2048 bug story, it would not hurt to have some insurance.
Many sites offer advice and solutions. I have settled on one in the UK to guide me through
the maze, fearing that if I keep looking for the answer I will still be bookmarking Y2K
pages on the dot of midnight of you know when.
The UK page -- and I honestly don't know why I chose it other than it was there and seemed
sensible -- is called Action 2000. It offers a
step-by-step guide to all major issues raised by the bug, both in business and the home.
And where possible it has a click-by-click guide so that people can check whether their
devices, particularly their computers, are immune to the alleged ravages of Y2K.
It also offers calm common sense. Does it really matter if your home fax machine date
stamps its documents with 1900 instead of 2000? Will that prevent the message going
through?
The site also explains in very simple terms how to check the date settings on PCs to see
if the bug will strike. It breaks home computer users into several categories, ranging
from those who use them to do a lot of work from home to those who do not know what PC
stands for.
Advice on checking your computer's compliance is graded in terms of jargon according to
these categories. If you need to see which of your programs might be affected by the bug
-- and again you have to ask yourself "will it really matter" -- Microsoft has an
exhaustive and exhausting list of all its software. They are sorted into categories
ranging from bug-compliant to no intention to check.
And once you are satisfied that you are as Y2K bug-proof as you can be, or you have
contented yourself that nothing will happen until 2048, you can read the Online section of
the Guardian in London to hear the latest on the Leap Year Bug and business fears about
Y2K striking 12 months early when computers search a year ahead from any date in 1999.
Have a peaceful New Year . . . the next one will be as worrying as you want it to be.
All articles Copyright: © West Australian Newspapers |
