Three, two, one...Happy New Millennium! At midnight next New Year's Eve, millions of people around the world will throw confetti, blow noisemakers and hug their friends and family to welcome the year 2000.
But some people are predicting that the new millennium celebrations will not last long. They say that just after the stroke of midnight, computers everywhere will go berserk. Computer-controlled traffic lights will get stuck flashing green. Files stored in computers, such as school report cards, will be wiped out. The computers that regulate the flow of electricity will shut down. Whole cities will be blanketed in darkness. There will be no way to turn on a light, watch television or heat up something to eat.
Wait a second! No lights, no TV, no hot food--no report cards?! Is that really going to happen?
A Shortsighted Shortcut
Right now billions of dollars are being spent and thousands of programmers are at work to make sure disaster doesn't strike at midnight. Experts say that some computer systems may suffer glitches, but many will be fine. But that hasn't stopped people from worrying. With the big day less than a year away, more people than ever are afraid they will be bitten by the millennium bug.
What is the millennium bug, and where did it come from? In the first place, this bug is not an insect, it's electronic. When the first computer programmers went to work in the 1950s and '60s, they took a shortcut. Instead of entering all four numbers in a year, such as 1999, they used only the last two digits: 99. That way they could save valuable space in the computer's memory. Besides, in the 1950s, the year 2000 seemed a long way off! Computer experts figured that all the programs would be different by now.
They were wrong. Many of the original computer programs from the 1950s and '60s are, in fact, still in use today. In addition, many newer programs simply followed the two-digit model for tracking years.
Two Zeros Equal One Big Problem
Why does it matter whether a computer records a year with four digits or just two? Because computers do not understand
dates, they understand numbers. Computers know that 99 is greater than 98 and that 98 is greater than 97. That's how they keep track of the years moving forward.
The millennium bug is expected to hatch from two egg-shaped numbers: 00. When the year switches from 1999 to 2000, many computers will read 00 as less than 99, as if time were rolling backward. This can cause some computers to do the wrong thing and stop others from doing anything at all.
Prepared For The Worst
Some folks have big fears for 2000. They are stockpiling canned food and bottled water in case there are shortages. They are also storing candles and batteries in case the power goes out.
Danielle Eckhart's parents have come up with a unique way to store an emergency supply of water: they bought their daughter a 300-gallon water bed! Says Danielle, 11: "I hope we don't end up drinking my bed." The sixth-grader's family has filled its basement in Lisbon, Ohio, with food to last several months, including cans of vegetable juice, chicken, beef and jam. If nothing bad happens, "I don't have to buy groceries for a long time," says Danielle's mom.
But most experts say the millennium bug won't sting too badly. Banks, the government, electric companies, airlines and fuel suppliers have all been working to make sure that their computers are ready for Y2K. (The "Y" stands for "year." The "K" stands for "kilo," meaning a thousand. So Y2K means year 2000.)
Y2k-O.K.
American Electric Power, which owns 22 power plants in seven states, has spent four years and $58 million getting its computers ready for 2000. Although there is still some work to be done, the company believes it will make the deadline. But just in case, American Electric has added emergency phone lines
for its customers. Its bosses have also asked many American Electric Power employees to postpone their new-millennium parties and be available to help in case of trouble.
Joe Valentine, the company's Y2K project director, is one of many experts around the world ready to swat the millennium bug if it rears its ugly head. "I'm not going to guarantee there will be no problems on January 1, 2000," he says, "but we'll be ready."
What Could Go Wrong?
Grocery Glitches?
Many food companies depend on computers. But manufacturers say that Y2K problems shouldn't stop food deliveries.
Cash Crunch?
Banks shouldn't run into too much trouble with Y2K. They started debugging their computers years ago.
Flight Foul-Ups?
Safety is the Number One priority for airlines. If their computers aren't ready, planes won't fly. That could mean
big delays.