1. The Y2K Problem By: Derrick Lee and Megan Stoneberg ITEC 1001-17 Sonal Dekhane November 29, 2007

2. Year 2000 Problem “Never before in history have we been able to predict the date of a catastrophe…until now.” - Y2K Web site

3. Areas of Focus Government Response The Scare Gary North Preparation Outcome Promotion Name Overview Programming The Y2K Bug Potential Problems Citizen’s Views

4. Name Abbreviation for the Year 2000 software problem Acronym accredited by Massachusetts programmer David Eddy Y = year, k = kilo or 1000 (2k = 2000) Also known as the millennium bug or Y2K bug Millennium bug references millennium roll-over

5. Overview “The Y2K problem is the electronic equivalent of the El Nino and there will be surprises around the globe.” - John Hamre, Deputy Secretary of Defense Widespread concern Failure of critical industries Failure of government functions Media hearsay/Press coverage fueled public’s fear

6. Programming Early program design represented years with two digit placeholders instead of four MM/DD/YY format, i.e. 08/30/99 Widespread practice from early 1960’s to late 1980’s Cheaper Saved memory space Unexpected longevity

7. The Y2K Bug Hit at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999 Most programs could only handle 20th-century dates When dates turned to ‘00’, computer would default to 1900 Produce erroneous results Affected dates and times on and after January 1, 2000

8. The Y2K Bug Inaccuracy of date and time functions Person’s age calculated by difference between two dates within the same century Y2K’s calculated difference of 1 Jan 2000 and 31 Dec 1999 = 100 years Caused incorrect date-related processing Failure of computer systems Software, firmware, hardware, embedded systems-->domino effect

9. Potential Problems Affect multitude of software programs, mainly accounting and databases U.S. Social Security Administration Near total system failure of Health, Corrections, and Welfare departments Birth dates and records, incorrect prison sentence expirations, payment delays Critical industries would be hit Electricity, finance, utilities, banking, manufacturing, telecom, and airlines

10. Citizens’ Views The public was divided about the effect Y2K would have on computers Many believed it to be a hoax Some were ignorant of the technology and oblivious to the hype of the millennium Others feared the worst, believing all computers worldwide would crash

11. Government Response U.S. government spent $300+ billion dollars Three step approach: Outreach and Advocacy Monitoring and Assessment Contingency Planning and Regulation Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) set Y2K schedules Commonwealth Agencies Correction goal of 7/1/98 9/30/97, 29 agencies were 3 months ahead

12. Government Response Special committees monitored progress Installed backup of critical files Schedules, tests, and critical evaluations performed U.S. Government worked alongside FEMA and Red Cross Fully staffed/prepared for events of Y2K

13. Government Response

14. The Scare Computer media professionals aided hysteria Made warnings/predictions of what was to come Economic catastrophe Full-blown Depression In 1997, The Gartner Group estimated, “the year 2000 problem could cost U.S. business $240 billion dollars…as many as 10 percent of all businesses won’t survive.” By 1999, the figure spiked to $600 billion

15. The Scare Book publishers jumped to advertise Michael Hyatt, wrote The Millennium Bug: How to Survive the Coming Chaos Marketed mass hysteria Book detailed three scenarios of Y2K: Brownout, Blackout, Meltdown “In Meltdown, I predict starvation. Without electricity, telecommunications, and banking…the public will live in a state of terror.”

16. Gary North Worst Y2K offender Ran Y2K Forum “The Year 2000 Problem: The Year the Earth Stands Still” Continuous Y2K promotion “The exodus of computer programmers will begin no later than 1999” “Months before January 1, 2000, the world’s stock markets will have crashed” Wrote of “gloom and doom” of the 21st century Predicted Armageddon

17. Preparations Public was advised to prepare for disaster By mid-1999, should be prepared with: Two to three months of cash withdrawals Hard copies of bank statement In case of banking failure Secure residence from intruders Mass chaos was to ensue Article in Forbes magazine recommended rural areas “build hidden rooms to avoid thugs”

18. Preparations Stockpile essentials: Generator Nonperishable food Gallons of water Medical supplies

19. Outcome No major failures were reported in the United States or Russia No confirmation that preparation prevented Y2K bug The U.S. created the “Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act,” to limit liability of Y2K-ready businesses Attorney’s prepared for numerous class action lawsuits, but none followed

20. Promotion Apple used the Y2K scare for marketing Macintosh is capable of rendering dates to 2020 Later upgraded date calculation through next 60 millennia "We may not have got everything right, but at least we knew the century was going to end.” - Science fiction author Douglas Adams, advertising for Mac

21. Activity Log Nov. 13, Chose topic Nov. 20, Discussed main points of our presentation Nov. 29, Derrick e-mailed me his section Nov. 30, Megan put the presentation together

22. References http://computer.howstuffworks.com/y2k.htm http://lbfc.legis.state.pa.us/factsheets/Y2K.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2000_problem http://www.fmew.com/archive/y2k/ http://www.y2ktimebomb.com/ http://www.co-intelligence.org/y2k_isitreal.html http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/Y/Year_2000_ problem.html http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/Y/Year_2000_ problem.html http://www.borderlands.com/y2k/y2khyste.htm http://www.countdown.org/y2k/prepare_2000.htm