[Moderator's note: Yes, getting off-topic here -- let's not get too heavily
into a general Y2K discussion, though I guess it can't continue for long
anyhow :-)   BIG]
 
This is way topic for ferrets, but since the hoopla and concern over the
Y2K issue with software has come up on the list, I thought I'd post a very
short response from the viewpoint of someone who has been in the software
industry since 1979.
 
The biggest threat for the year 2000 isn't from catastrophic software
failure as the clocks tick over to the new year.
 
The vast bulk of embedded or real-time software that runs components such
as automobile ignition systems, gas pumps at the filling station, nuclear
reactor control systems, water or sewer systems, power stations, and what
have you have NO NOTION OF THE DATE.  Many of these systems that care do
care about timing use a timer or several timers that simply count up
sequentially from system power up.
 
Most date aware software on critical systems run either real-time operating
systems, high end proprietary operating systems (like one from IBM), or a
flavor of Unix -- none of which have ever had a Y2K issue.
 
Most non financial applications that were written with Y2K limitations only
suffer from bad output formats on reports, but the software itself really
doesn't use the date in computations.
 
That leaves non critical systems (such as financial software and stuff that
runs on your personal PC) and very poorly designed operating systems, like
anything from Microsoft.
 
Accounting software systems for governments or businesses don't launch
missiles, control nuclear reactors (or weapons), or control air traffic.
 
Financial institutions are great at making money, and having systems
failures due to a well known potential bug would cost them a great deal of
money, and so they've gone through great pains to hunt down and eliminate
these bugs.  Most of these institutions (and big software vendors, such as
Oracle, IBM, etc.) have already run their software on systems with the date
set at December 31, 1999 and monitored them as the clock turns over to
January 1, 2000.
 
Sorry for the off topic post -- now go give your fuzzies some Y2K hugs!
 
Leonard Bottleman       [log in to unmask]
[Posted in FML issue 2913]