by Robert Gillis
published in the Foxboro Reporter 4/1997

On the lighter side of things, there’s a new tale of certain doom making its way through the media, and this time the story isn’t confined to tabloids that also report images of Elvis appearing on Mars. No, it’s not the end of the world, but big problems for us and our computer-controlled planet. It’s called “The year 2000 problem.”

When computers first arrived on the scene (or were planted here by evil aliens, depending on whether you believe the “Dark Skies” TV show) they were big—very big.

Back in the old days, vacuum tubes and transistors, combined with miles of wires, cables and do-dads, created the guts of advanced computers, and they usually filled entire rooms. You can well imagine how large the “Gameboy” and “Nintendo” cartridges were back then.

At that time, computer memory was at a premium, and programmers of the day, who used paper tape, punch cards and rocks for data retrieval/storage were extremely conservative with expensive memory—and took a short cut that started the whole mess. To conserve programming space, they used two digits—not four—to represent the calendar year in programs. Therefore, 1956 became 56. 1989 became 89. 1900 became 00. And 2000 became… Uh, oh. Uh, 2000 ALSO became 00.

Programmers back then didn’t bother considering that another year with the “00” suffix was a mere 40 years away, and assumed that most of their code would have long since been replaced by 2000. For many systems worldwide, that didn’t happen.

When the year 2000 arrives, unless they are fixed beforehand, millions of computer programs around the planet will interpret the year as “00”—or “1900.” In theory, anything calculated by computer (i.e., EVERYTHING) would be affected: For example, your credit card bill could contain 99 years of interest (as if we’d really notice the difference, anyway). A phone call started at 11:55 on New Year’s Eve 1999 and lasting a few minutes into the early minutes of 2000 could be calculated to have lasted over 99 years. Computers would think babies born in 2001 were 101 years old!

The scare goes further, as many people eager to cash in on this problem threaten everything from the fall of the stock market and banking industry to planes falling from the sky on 1/1/00. Most of this is panic and hoopla, as nearly all companies have aggressive “year 2000” programs in place now to fix the problem before it occurs. Contrary to what the tabloids have been saying for years, the world isn’t going to end in 2000, and most computers will be ready for 2000 long before Dick Clark counts down the final moments of 1999 in Times Square.

By the way, just to set the record straight, 2000 is NOT the dawn of the third millennium—the 21st century begins in 2001. 2000 is the last year of the 20th century. I’d explain further, but it involves a lot of math and the fact that there was no year “0.” Trust me on this one.

All that said, many people around the world have already anticipated the year 2000 problem by gradually embracing the world of 1900. Don’t laugh, I’m serious! People have already turned their thoughts and ideas slowly backward—look at the resurgence of 1970s clothing and music, as well as the reappearance of 1970s stars such as John Travolta and the rock group KISS. 1990s artists like Celine Dion and the FooGees are covering 1970s hits by Peter Frampton and Roberta Flack. Even those loud “clog” shoes are back. Polyester and bell-bottoms are in again. 1960s and 1970s TV shows and movies are making returns to the big screen. Macys and JC Penny look like they were stocked by the Brady Bunch. 1960s hats are chic again.

You think I’m kidding? Check out any fashion store these days. You’ll feel like you’re caught in a time warp.

But I digress. While it is probable that the year 2000 problem will causes some havoc and chaos (considering that even daylight savings time has a tendency to briefly mess up computers), it’s pretty unlikely that the world will come to a screeching halt in the wee hours of New Year’s Day 2000. Companies have been aware of the problem for many years, and most make sure that their programs are year 2000 compliant. The big brains are already working on the problem.

But in the meantime, you might want to get your old clothes out of the attic again, and try to get that Studabaker working. The good old days might be coming back again with a vengeance!