Everyday people use computers in one way or another. From starting a car in the morning to listening to the stereo, computers are utilized everywhere. Our reliance on machinery is astounding. For example, social security numbers that were at one time used strictly for our retirement are now our sole identity. As computer use and reliance have overwhelmed society, a problematic computer aspect, now referred to as Y2K, was absentmindedly ignored. Becoming the global hype of today, Y2K is justifiably a topic of controversy and discussion in America today. We as a society can only predict what will occur when the clock strikes 12 on December 31 1999. .

             The Y2k problem or "bug" is best defined by the United States Security and Exchange commission. "Put simply, many computerized systems are programmed to use a two-digit rather than four-digit number to represent the year. The "19" that proceeds dates in the century was assumed. Systems programmed in this fashion will treat the Year 2000, stored in their system as "00," as the year 1900. As a result, systems or programs that use dates to perform calculations, comparisons, or sorting may generate incorrect results when working with years after 1999. For example, a firm with a system that is not compliant may be unable to receive or process payment information in January 2000 for a transaction that took place in December 1999. (Readiness of U.S.).

             This means that most computer based information systems are likely to fail when the internal clock or "bios" turns over to the year 1900 instead of the year 2000. The concept is much like early odometers in automobiles. Many cars do not have a one hundred thousands place on the odometer. I turn when the car advances from 99,000 miles to 100,000 miles the odometer reads 00,000. Although this problem seems minor in respect to the Y2k problem, the comparison demonstrates the lack of account for the future.