Computer bugs in the year 2000

[Eric Stern]

> 
>       I have a friend that raised an interesting question that I immediately
> tried to prove wrong.  He is a programmer and has this notion that when we
> reach the year 2000, computers will not accept the new date.  Will the
> computers assume that it is 1900, or will it even cause a problem?  I
> violently opposed this because it seemed so meaningless.  Computers have
> entered into existence during this century, and has software, specifically
> accounting software, been prepared for this turnover?  If this really
> comes to pass and my friend is correct, what will happen?  Is it anything
> to be concerned about?  I haven't given it much thought, but this programmer
> has.  I thought he was joking but he has even lost sleep over this.  When
> I say 'friend,' I'm NOT referring to myself, if it seemed that way.
> 
>      "I've never really written anything like that before"
> 
> Spencer L. Bolles

   I used to work for a company that packed dates into 16 bit words
in such a way so that being the last part of the century, all dates
were negative numbers.  However, certain files could contain either
of two types of records, the distinguishing characteristing being
that one type of record contained a date at a particular offset.
Of course, the check for this kind of record was whether the number
at that offset was negative or not, so when the century rolls over
this test would fail.  I pointed this feature out to several people,
who rightly were not concerned, as by the time this became a problem,
their software would have migrated to a different system and would
probably be largely rewritten.

  However, I have heard that CDC operating systems had a problem
at a certain date in the past, where the computer would refuse
to boot up when this date was reached.  Calls came in to CDC
from all over the world as midnight advanced westward.

					Eric G. Stern