Y2k Bug

Term Paper Title	Y2k Bug
# of Words	1163
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.65

Y2k Bug

     Year 2000 is a serious problem and we need to prepare for it. I will clear up

and get the facts strait with the year 2000, computer disaster. Dooms day? Many

think it is likely. Others think the year 2000 is just like any other year. We all must

prepare for the Millenium or disaster will strike. We will encounter problems

including but not ending with economical, electrical, legal, and computer failure.


     Millenium bug, Y2K, computer failure, total disaster, these headlines will

look more and more familure as the year 2000 nears. All these names above refer

to the same problem. "The problem is old code in an awful lot of computer

programs can not tell the difference between the year 2000 and the year 1900."

(Shakespeare, N. 1999) Systems may crash, services can be stopped,

communications could shut down, and electrical power can be lost. When

computers were first in the development stage, almost no resources for design

were available. Since the technology was just evolving from computer systems

fillings 1, 2, or even 3 large rooms, into a little desktop PC shortcuts were

definatly taken. The technology was so new and couldn't compare to the stats of

PC's now its hard to understand and believe the huge difference in speed, storage,

memory, and sizee. The Y2K bug was born in the early 1950's only to save two

bits of memory. Today computers have millions of bits of memory. When PC or

personal computers came into production two bits of memory were a big deal in

space and technology. Although this was done back in the 1950' the habit was

carried on up until 1995. The two bits were saved in this chip located on teh

mother board called the Bios Chip or Cmos chip. These chip are the very bone

basis for the computer and its ability to run. This code "19" was embedded into the

chip to save two bits. To change the architecture of the chip and estimations of 50

engineers working for about six months would be sufficiant. Computer

manufactures discovered this problem in 1975 but to redevelop the industry it

would cost about two billion dollars. Two billion dollars is a lot of money

especially in 1975. Computer manufactures did not want to spend this ammount of

money so they planned to procrastinate the problem for others to deal with.


     The potential disaster is a world wide issue. A former threat to the United

States millitary forces, Russia, had just recently asked if the United States would

help their country prepare for the year 2000 problems. Almost all companies big

and small all over the world have to deal with this problem. Anyone from a home

personal computer user to a multimillion dollar corporation will encounter the bug.

If not taken serious the bite will definatly be deep. Banks, credit card companies,

Federal Agencies, internet service providers, cable companies, software

developers, electrical power plants, factories, computer aided shipents, hospitals,

prisions, courts, inventory systems, and others that use computers and dates will

encounter the bug if not properly prepared.


     Many disaster can result from the Year 2000 Bug. For instance almost

everything that is bought today is or has been traveled through the use of the

trucking industry. For speedy and accurate service these trucking companies use

computers to track scheudles and shipment orders. If there computers and there

software is not year 2000 compliant then the industry can ver...

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