By Seth Stiebinger
Y2K, or year 2000 for those of you that don’t know, is a computer term for a problem brought up by lazy programmers. Y2K breaks down to this. When programmers write programs that contain the current date they use a 2-digit system {e.g. 2-10-99} as opposed to a a 4-digit system {e.g. 2-10-1999}.
The problem arises when the year 2000 comes around. The computer will think this is OO- the 2 digit equivalent of 2000, so all the transactions; banks, stock market computers, anything that uses the date in its programming will screw up. For instance a bank. A man has 1,000 dollars and deposits it on 12-31-99. The next day that money isn’t there because the computer thinks it isn’t going to be deposited for another 100 years. Is this a problem? I don’t think it is a problem. There are 2 places where this problem occurs- the program itself, and the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) which allows the computer to start up.
The programs are easy to fix. Just find any reference to the date and change it to a 4- digit system. Granted this takes time but it can still be done. As for the BIOS, one can find Y2K compatible BIOS upgrades on the internet for free or very low cost. I personally think Y2K is just a way to try to get more people interested in technology and not as big a problem as it’s been made to seem.