Y2K - A Ticking Time Bomb
Tick, Tick, Tick. The Year 2000 draws closer with every passing second. Many have nothing to fear. Why should they? It sounds ridiculous, being afraid of a year, what could possibly go wrong? The truth is, that many things can happen, not from the year itself, but from a simple programming shortcut to save what was once invaluable memory. People say that they do not need computers to live. But then again, many do not realize how much we depend on computers in our lives today. When one goes to the ATM to get money for food, he or she is using computers. When someone starts up their car, they are using computers. When one calls another on the telephone, they are using computers. People use computers more then they think, and when the computers turn back against them, no one really knows what may happen. When the Year 2000 comes, many of these machines will look at the new year as the year 1900. Why? Because back when programmers were setting up the dating system for the original computers, they chose to just use the last two digits of the year to save space; and back then, every byte counted. Called the Y2K problem, this computer glitch could cause some major headaches. The truth is, time is running out, it will take
The dawn of a new century brings numerous challenges to the computer world. Tackling the unceasing Year 2000 problem is a attenuated, tedious process of looking through millions of lines of code searching for two-digit date fields, and fixing them so they are compliant with the new year. The problem all started years ago, when computers had a tiny fraction of the memory and disk space they do today. In an effort to conserve that precious space, programmers limited date fields to six digits: YYMMDD. (Broder) "This digital relic from the days when every byte of computer storage was precious, was supposed to have been long gone by now, but the practice became standard." Now when the year 2000 comes, problems can develop from this ancient programming shortcut. How does it work? Suppose a person makes a bank deposit at the end of 1999, and then make a transfer in the year 2000. The bank would regard the "00" two-digit field in the year column as the year1900, and would treat it as if it was made before the deposit. (Jager, 15) Hence, the Y2K problem. "Virtually all the mainframe computers that keep the world humming are riddled with software that refuses to recognize that when the year 1999 runs out, the year 2000 follows." (Chinni, 52) This newly discovered computer bug would be arduous to stop. Time is limited to one year and counting, Y2K will take a great deal of hard work and tax dollars to fix, and if it is not fixed in time many uncertainties will result. It is hard to predict what will happen, experts are still puzzled over how to resolve the dilemma. "Fixing Y2K is like learning to swim in order to escape a sinking ship. We can, if we all choose, solve it before it happens, although we probably won't." (DeJesus, 62) Sweeney, Brad "End of the World as We Know It." Inc. 1 August 1997: 29 Zajac, Jennifer. "The Dawn of a New Century Means Profits for Three Tech Stocks."
Some common words found in the essay are:
Chinni Planes, CG Bloget, Tick Tick, Japanese German, Called Y2K, Y2K IRS, Operating System, Year's Eve, Y2K Virtually, YYMMDD Broder, computer code, business week, using computers, ebsco cd-rom, ebsco cd-rom 1997, world almanac, dollars spent, spent litigation, famighetti 12, june 1998, fix y2k,
Approximate Word count = 2214
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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