20 years after the Y2K pc bug put the globe on excessive alert, the same downside has emerged at a San Francisco-based software program firm.
firm.
Splunk, which offers organizations with data-sifting software program instruments, final week revealed a timestamp recognition downside that may trigger a “vital inconvenience” for purchasers. If customers fail to use the company-issued patch by Jan. 1, 2020, the Splunk system “might both add timestamps utilizing the present yr or misread the date incorrectly and add a timestamp with the misinterpreted date.”
The programming glitch mirrors the one which gripped the world with apprehension within the late 20th century. Additionally referred to as the Millennium Bug, the Y2K downside was linked to early pc applications that abbreviated four-digit years as two digits numbers to save lots of area.
The transition from “99” to “00” was of main concern, as specialists warned that pc software program and hardware techniques might reset or malfunction in a single day attributable to a time-based error.
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The 2000 glitch frenzy
On Monday, Sept. 16, 1996, The File printed an article on Y2K titled: “A Glitch in Time.”
The newspaper’s first point out of the Y2K phenomenon quoted a consultant of Prudential Insurance coverage in Newark who claimed the corporate was spending $150 million to unravel the issue. Software program upgrades had been wanted to make sure no lack of protection and the ensuing issues a synthetic lapse might trigger employers and clients, she stated.
The report warned of potential issues with aircraft-maintenance information, interest-bearing accounts and private information all as a result of computer systems had been going to reset to the yr 1900 or advance to 19100, as an alternative of progressing to 2000.
By early 1998, the alarm bells had been in full ring and all had been in a Y2K frenzy.
From September 1999: For the household of Debbie Black of West Des Moines, there isn’t any must panic about preparedness for potential Y2K issues. The Blacks attempt to be ready for any occasion, with provides readily available. Right here, she demonstrates a hand-operated grain mill, surrounded by staples equivalent to wheat, powdered milk, sugar and rice. (Photograph: Register file photograph)
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Edward Yardeni was the chief economist for Deutsche Morgan Grenfell in spring 1998. He told U.S. Senators that Y2K’s widespread damage was elevating the likelihood of a global recession to 40 percent.
“The widespread mantra … is ‘Bill Gates will fix it [but] It is too big and too overwhelming even for Microsoft,” he said.
By August, Yardeni upped his estimate of a global recession to 70 percent. Stock prices could fall 30 percent starting in late 1999, he warned.
The potential for systematic failures in banking, transportation, utility and government operations led to a pervasive initiative to upgrade computers from mainframes to desktops. Elevators, medical equipment and airplanes were thought to be at risk.
On full Y2K alert
Flames were stoked when British government officials announced their armed forces would be ready if transportation, utility or emergency services failed.
The European Commission reported nations were lagging in finding a fix. The UN created the International Y2K Cooperation Center and President Bill Clinton established a way for state-based companies to share their Y2K fixes.
As the world prepared for its computer systems to melt down as we entered 2000, typewriter repairman, Terry Bordon holds a classic 1934 Underwood model 6, manual typewriter he jokingly placed a sign in the carriage that reads Y2K Compatible. (Photo: Frank Espich/IndyStar, INI )
“This is not one of the summer movies where you can close your eyes during the scary parts,” Clinton said. “Every business, of every size, with eyes wide open, must face the future and act.”
Worldwide, roughly $300 billion was spent on upgrades – more than $100 billion in the United States, according to newspaper reports. Government systems were the largest concern, leading to the widespread publicity of a doomsday scenario triggered by mistakenly launched nuclear devices.
Geoffrey James, a contributing editor for Inc.com, said several hundred billion dollars were wasted as panic set in, thanks in part to a religious doomsday zealot posing as a computer expert. The Y2K bug was an issue, he said, but it was not that pervasive.
“The premises behind the disaster scenarios were flawed, i.e. cascading faults and un-fixable embedded systems,” James told NorthJersey.com and USA Today Network.
End of the world, as we know it
On Jan. 18, 1999, Time magazine’s cover featured the phrase: “The End of the World!?!” Other publications later pressed forward with “Y2K Checklists.”
The Record advised readers to obtain, store and safeguard cash, food, water, medicine, flashlights, batteries, generators, fuel and financial and medical records ahead of “Y2K computer failures.” Emergency supply caches were formed in basements for those fearing a computer-driven shutdown.
Many flocked to electronics stores to upgrade software and hardware purchases under the logic that upgrading their computers would automatically take care of Y2K, James said. Best Buy sold new PCs with stickers telling consumers to turn them off before midnight on Dec. 31, 1999.
For the most part, it was business as usual to start the new millennium. The new year triggered minor faults at two nuclear power plants in Japan and several dozen horse-betting machines failed in Delaware, CNN and other outlets reported. Airports, banks and websites operated as expected.
The predicted stock market crash did come – but in March 2000 when the crash of the dot-com bubble coupled with the post-Y2K slump in tech sales, James said.
Relief quickly transitioned to skepticism, though proponents patted themselves on the back in the follow-up media coverage. Needed or not, the upgrades would provide lasting tangible benefits, they said.
However, James said the expert predictions of Y2K chaos wasted money and fueled skepticism as a whole — which may have had a lingering effect on issues such as climate change and vaccinations.
“I think we’ve learned that you can’t believe everything you read on the web,” he said. “Because the assumption during Y2K was ‘if it’s on the web it must be true.’ As insane as that sounds today.”
David Zimmer is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: zimmer@northjersey.com Twitter: @dzimmernews
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