Y2KCPT 20

The Millennium Bug was a major programming glitch caused by a shortcut taken in most computer software. Instead of rendering the full value of a year the machines always rendered a 19 then a variable of two digits, like 1996 would have been rendered with a scrip like this:

Year=19xx

Xx represents the varable number for the number of the year. It was assumed that it would always progress upwards, so when it hit 1999, problems formed

What and Why

Once the clocks turned over the millenium, the glitches that followed were a lot less serious than people anticipated. Some clocks reverted to 1900, and some displayed 19100 depending on the digit allowance. Only a small number caused a fatal programming flaw, and by that time, most people had the patch designed to alleviate the problem. Hoever a lot of people thought that Y2K would be a global crisis that shut down communications technology forever.

Effects

Some Random Data

Y2K Cost in Perspective

World War II: $4200 billionMillennium bug (Y2K): $600 billionVietnam conflict: $500 billionKobe earthquake: $100 billionLos Angeles earthquake: $60 billion

Quotes"I came here today because I wanted to stress the urgency of the challenge.... Clearly, we must set forth what the government is doing, what business is doing, but also what all of us have yet to do to meet this challenge together. And there is still a pressing need for action.... In the business sector just as in the government sector, there are still gaping holes. Far too many businesses, especially small- and medium-sized firms, will not be ready unless they begin to act. A recent Walls Fargo bank survey shows that of the small businesses that even know about the problem, roughly half intend to do nothing about it." -- President Bill Clinton, in a speech about Y2K at the National Academy of Sciences, July 15,1998

Quotes"When people say to me, 'Is the world going to come to an end?' I say, 'I don't know.' I don't know whether this will be a bump in the road -- that's the most optimistic assessment of what we've got, a fairly serious bump in the road -- or whether this will, in fact, trigger a major worldwide recession with absolutely devastating economic consequences in some parts of the world... We must coldly, calculatingly divide up the next 18 months to determine what we can do, what we can't do, do what we can, and then provide for contingency plans for that which we cannot." -- Senator Robert F. Bennett (Republican from Utah), chair of the Senate Special Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, in a speech June 2, 1998, to The Center for Strategic and International Studies

Quotes"The fact is no one knows how much progress is occurring among state and local governments, private business firms, foreign businesses, and foreign governments. No one can say with any certainty that the following systems won't fail to some degree during 2000: nuclear missile systems, electric power grids, oil and gas distribution, telecommunications, air traffic control, transportation, shipping, manufacturing, distribution, banking, finance, and government services. I suppose, we can be naïve optimists and conclude that all will be well because the consequences of failure are so terrible. This blind approach is unacceptable, in my opinion. We need more answers about Y2K so we can assess the risks and prepare contingency and disaster recovery plans." Dr. Edward Yardeni, Chief Economist & Managing Director, Deutsche Bank Securities (a global investment banking firm), testimony July 22, 1998 to the Senate Committee On Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Hearing on the Year 2000 Problem and Agriculture (read the rest of his testimony at http://www.senate.gov/~agriculture/yardeni.htm for an excellent set of 11 questions regarding the vulnerability of our food supply in 2000)