[2200] in Humor
The 1999 to 2000 problem in computers
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Francesco Deved')
Mon Dec 8 02:06:26 1997
To: humor@MIT.EDU
Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 01:57:29 EST
From: "Francesco Deved'" <grisha@MIT.EDU>
------- Forwarded Message
>> I dunno what the big deal is with computers maybe not comprehending
>> the changeover from 1999 to 2000. Was it a problem in 1899???
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>> I'm working on year 2000 program corrections, and I just thought
>> of a troublesome question.
>>
>> *Technically* speaking, the 3rd millennium does not start until
>> January 1, 2001. The last year of the 20th century is 2000, not
>> 1999.
>>
>> Doesn't that mean we have an extra year to fix this? Maybe we
>> don't need to hurry quite so much.
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>A PURELY FRENCH SOLUTION TO THE YEAR 2000 PROBLEM
>Paris, Tuesday, 1st of April 1997
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>The French Ministry of Informatics (MOI) today announced that they
>have
>determined that French computer systems will not be affected by the
>year
>2000 problem. An extensive series of tests have been run on a wide
>range of applications within the country and on no system has a Y2K
>problem been apparent.
>
>A spokesman put this good fortune down to a side-effect of the French
>number system. In this system the number eighty is represented by the
>composite "quatre vingts" -- literally "four twenties." French
>computer
>systems represent the "quatre" as a single digit and will harmlessly
>roll over to "cinq vingts" or "five twenties" while the rest of the
>world collapses. Thus, "quatre vingts dix neuf" will increment to
>"cinq
>vingts."
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>French speaking areas of Belgium and Switzerland are bemused by these
>developments, because they still use the older "septant, octant,
>nonant"
>system for 70, 80, and 90. The Belgian government is thought to be
>considering an urgent change in the language. This would provide a
>major boost for the less prosperous French speaking part of the
>country
>when computer systems are relocated to French speaking communes.
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>Microsoft has announced that it will use similar techniques to
>guarantee
>the PCs will not suffer from such problems, by launching a new version
>of their operating system. "Windows ninety ten" is expected to be
>available in the year 2002.
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>YEAR 2000 WOES DON'T AFFECT JAVA UNTIL A.D. 292271023
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>Sun Microsystems Inc. today acknowledged the Year 292 Million Bug in
>the Java computer language, which could cause problems for Social
>Security recipients and millions of other computer-dependent users
>in 292271023 A.D.
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>Dr. James Gosling, the inventor of Java, divulged the problem and
>hastened to add that a team of specialists is now at work attempting
>to solve the problem sometime within the next 292,271 millennia.
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>"We can't be certain Java will be around that long," said Gosling,
>inventor of Java. "But then again, we can't take any chances. Two
>hundred and ninety two million-plus years may seem like a long time
>for a species. But relatively speaking, in astronomical terms,
>it's nothing." Added Gosling, "I don't mean to brag, but Java
>is taking on a life of its own. We do see it as the computing
>platform of the 21st century and well beyond."
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<italic>Leonid K.
</italic> <bold>x627
</bold>
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