Subject: Is it valid? FW: Something to ponder
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 11:45:50 -0600
From: "Fletcher, Michelle" <Michelle_Fletcher@jdedwards.com>
To: "'RMIUG Discussion
List'" <rmiug-discuss@rmiug.org>
Fletcher, Michelle wrote:
Has anyone ever seen this or know the validity of it?Michelle
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Jan. 1, 2000 Isn't Only 'Doomsdate' for computers . . .One of the things this list forgot is that many Cobol programs use a year value
of "99" to denote a deleted record. This means Y2K problems really start 1/1/99.
<http://webserv1.startribune.com/cgi-bin/stOnLine/article?thisSlug=Y2K13>
> > Published Sunday, September 13, 1998
> > Jan. 1, 2000, isn't only 'doomsdate'
> > Steve Woodward / Newhouse News Service
> > Jan. 1, 2000, is The Big One, kids.
> >
> > By now, you've heard that many of the world's computers will roll the
> > date clock forward from "99" to "00" with potentially disastrous
> > consequences. Year 2000 authorities prophesy problems as minor as
> > erroneous overdue notices from the library and as major as a failure of
> > the nation's power grid.
> >
> > But that isn't the only computer "doomsdate" looming. A slew of
> > lesser-known dates also could wreak technological havoc.
> > So brace yourself. The first date to dread -- Jan. 1, 1999 -- is fast
> > approaching.
> >
> > Jan. 1, 1999: The one-year-look-ahead problem
> > Not every computer counts forward like you and me. Some look down the
> > road one entire year and count backward to determine the date. (Please
> > don't ask why.) On Jan. 1, 1999, some will look forward one year and see
> > "00." Like humans, the computers may balk at having to count backward
> > from 00.
> >
> > Jan. 1, 1999, to Dec. 31, 2002: The euro currency problem
> > We all know that the year 2000 problem is the biggest software project
> > in history. But many Americans are unaware that programmers throughout
> > the world are also at work on the second biggest software project in
> > history: converting the currencies of 11 European nations into a single
> > currency called the euro.
> >
> > Banks and financial institutions will begin transacting business in
> > euros on Jan. 1, 1999, although the actual bank notes won't be issued
> > until Jan. 1, 2001. The introduction of the euro is to continue through
> > the year 2002.
> >
> > There's no direct link between the euro project and the Y2K project, but
> > the massive size of the simultaneous projects will soon take most of the
> > world's available programmers.
> >
> > Aug. 21, 1999: The GPS rollover problem
> > The world's 24 global positioning satellites record time by counting the
> > weeks that have passed since their launch in 1980. The weeks fill up a
> > counter much like the odometer on your car. But like your odometer, the
> > counter rolls over to 0000 when it's full. At midnight on Aug. 21, 1999,
> > the counter will be full. Equipment that uses the GPS signals may
> > malfunction.
> >
> > Sept. 9, 1999: The 9999 end-of-file problem
> > Many computers have been programmed to recognize 9999 as an
> > "end-of-file" command. Perhaps some computers will conclude, quite
> > logically, that a date of 9/9/99 means it's the end of all time.
> >
> > Oct. 1, 1999: The federal fiscal year 2000 problem
> > Big Daddy rolls its clock forward Oct. 1, 1999. As of that date, the
> > federal government officially enters its 2000 budget year. Every federal
> > function will be affected, from defense to Medicare to payments on the
> > federal debt.
> >
> > Jan. 4, 2000: The first-working-day-of-the-year problem
> > Year 2000 begins on a Saturday. Corporate America will switch on most of
> > its desktop computers Tuesday, Jan. 4, after a long holiday weekend.
> > Boot up and hang on to your morning mochas.
> >
> > Feb. 29, 2000: The Year 2000 leap year problem, Part I
> > Most programmers know the rules for calculating leap years: Any year
> > evenly divisible by four is a leap year, except years that also are
> > divisible by 100. So 1996 is a leap year, but 2000 isn't -- er, right?
> > Well, there's a third, lesser-known rule that cancels the first two: Any
> > year divisible by 400 is a leap year, including -- you guessed it --
> > 2000. The question is: How many programmers know that rule?
> >
> > Dec. 31, 2000: The Year 2000 leap year problem, Part II
> > Some computers work by counting the number of days in the year. If they
> > aren't programmed to know that 2000 is a leap year, the machines will be
> > bewildered when they reach Dec. 31, 2000, the seemingly impossible 366th
> > day of the year.
> >
> > Sept. 8, 2001: The Unix end-of-file problem
> > Unix is the "other" major operating system, a set of instructions that,
> > like Windows, DOS and MacOS, run the basic functions of a computer. Unix
> > powers many commercial and Internet computers. Unix tells time
> > differently, which means that it does not have a year 2000 problem.
> > Unfortunately, it does have a Sept. 8, 2001, problem. In Unix language,
> > that date is represented by the number 999,999,999 -- the same number
> > that some Unix applications use to denote the end of a file.
> >
> > Circa 2025: The U.S. telephone number problem
> > By the year 2025 or so, the United States will simply run out of
> > available seven-digit telephone numbers and area codes. Telephone
> > companies will have to add digits or revamp the numbering system. That,
> > in turn, will force software programmers to overhaul every piece of
> > software that uses phone numbers, plus all databases and archives that
> > store phone numbers.
> >
> > Jan. 19, 2038: The other Unix problem
> > The Unix operating system tells time by counting the number of seconds
> > elapsed since Jan. 1, 1970. But like your odometer, there are only so
> > many places on its counter. At seven seconds past 3:14 a.m. on Jan. 19,
> > 2038, the counters on every Unix computer in the world will be full and
> > will roll over to "0." Many computers will assume it's either Jan. 1,
> > 1970, all over again (who wants to relive the '70s?) or that it's the
> > end of the world (which may be a better alternative than the preceding).
> >
> > Circa 2050 to 2075: The Social Security number problem
> > By 2075, the United States will have exhausted the 1 billion unique
> > Social Security numbers possible under its nine-digit numbering system.
> > Year 2000 expert Capers Jones suggests that the nation must be prepared
> > by 2050 to expand or replace the many software applications that depend
> > on those numbers.*** You received this message because you are on an RMIUG mailing list ***
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Subject: Y2K problem (Was: Is it valid?)
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 13:06:25 MDT
From: <rick@reo.alphacdc.com (Richard E. Oakes)>
To: "'RMIUG Discussion
List'" <rmiug-discuss@rmiug.org>
The original message is way to long to quote, but lists many other dates besides January 1, 2000 which are potential problems. Someone asked if these other dates are valid problems. I can only state that the documentation we got from the National Credit Union Administration, listing the required steps to be taken to assure Y2K compliance, did require testing on several of the dates listed, for exactly the reasons given. I don't think it went as far as 2025 or 2038, some of the dates listed in the message, but it did include 9/1 and 9/9 of 1999. I don't have the book in front of me now, but there is some validity in the message.
Rick Oakes
Subject: Re: Is it valid? FW: Something to ponder
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 19:25:44 GMT
From: <fricklas@disinfo.com (Ken Fricklas)>
To: "'RMIUG Discussion
List'" <rmiug-discuss@rmiug.org>
Actually, this is a good thing. The problem with Y2K is that all the bugs happen at the same time, causing a cumulative effect that may be chaos-inducing. The more stuff that fails early, the sooner they are fixed, and the less of an effect 1/1/00 has...
[ LEANNE'S NOTE FOR MCTE 650: Ken is referring to the next response, concerning USWest... ]
CHARLES ORIEZ'S REFERENCE TO THE GPSS LED TO AN INTENSE SEARCH OF THAT ACRONYM. WHAT I DISCOVERED CHILLED ME TO THE BONE. I AM PROVIDING A LIST OF LINKS, AND YOU CAN DETERMINE FOR YOURSELF HOW THIS FITS IN ... AND WHEN. THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENORMOUS. I AM LEFT WITH THE FEELING (AS SO MANY TIMES IN MY LIFE) THAT INFORMATION IS PURPOSEFULLY BEING WITHHELD.AN UNINFORMED POPULACE IS ONE THAT IS NOT PRODUCING ... CHAOS, BROUGHT ON BY FEAR.
Subject: Re: Is it valid? FW: Something to ponder
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 12:30:19 +0000
From: <coriez@netone.com (Charles Oriez)>
To: "'RMIUG Discussion
List'" <rmiug-discuss@rmiug.org>
Dave Laube (CIO for USWEST) said in a speech a couple of weeks ago that they had discovered that their billing system would have stopped working on 1/1/99. It seems a 99 in some date fields had to do with a special kind of order. I've heard elsewhere that the GPSS will stop functioning at 1201 Zulu on Aug 23, 1999, which apparently is the rollover date on whatever timing system they're using. Most companies who are running simulations are running a variety of dates, including 9/9/99.
Jane's Defence Index
http://www.janes.com/defence/resources/glossary/defres_glosgm-gz.html
GPSS
General-Purpose Satellite System
Space vehicles
GPSSU
Global Positioning System Sensor Unit
Navigation & guidance
---
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing
http://wombat.doc.ic.ac.uk/foldoc/foldoc.cgi?GPSS
General Purpose Systems Simulator. Geoffrey Gordon, 1960. Discrete simulations. "The Application of GPSS V to Discrete System Simulation", G. Gordon, P-H 1975. Versions include GPSS II (1963), GPSS III (1965), GPS/360 (1967), and GPSS V (1970).
---
BABEL: Computer Oriented Abbreviations and Acronyms
http://www.access.digex.net/~ikind/babel.html#G
GPSS * General Purpose Systems Simulator (language) (Letter groups followed with " * " were used before 1965.)
---
NASA -- Kennedy Space Center (KSC)
Ground Processing Scheduling System (GPSS)
http://technology.ksc.nasa.gov/WWWaccess/COOPS/GPSS.html
"The technology was developed by a team consisting of personnel at KSC, the NASA Ames Research Center, and Lockheed Martin Space Operations Company (LMSOC). The use of the GPSS development system at KSC has resulted in improvement to the overall Shuttle scheduling process. The GPSS is used at KSC for the scheduling of Space Shuttle Orbiter prelaunch processing operations in the Orbiter Processing Facility."
Commercial Use
"A commercialized version of the GPSS technology has been successfully introduced to the commercial market by the copyright licensee, Red Pepper Software Company. The company has leveraged the NASA-developed optimization technology and coupled it with a new object-oriented system, designed to help manufacturers plan and schedule their operations in an increasingly complex world, while providing real-time responsiveness to customer demand. The Red Pepper product is called "Production ResponseAgent", an integrated planning and scheduling software package for production facilities. The company has already signed contracts to supply the "ResponseAgent" to three major companies."
"Other Red Pepper products resulting from the NASA technology transfer include "Enterprise ResponseAgent", an enterprisewide planning and scheduling system, and "Distribution ResponseAgent", an integrated planning and scheduling package for distribution centers."
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Potential Market
warning! warning! warning! (Leanne's emphasis!!)
What if: NASA's software has been made Y2K compliant, plus any other potential dates? What if: one, two, or a few of these commercial sites have not been so fastidious? ... and how much damage could one little airline do?
---
"Welcome to the Joint Service System Management
Office (JSSMO)
located at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, home to the Global Positioning System Joint Service System Management Office (JSSMO) and the Integrated Support Facility (ISF). We provide joint service support for GPS user equipment including logistics, item management and engineering support. Our primary mission is to provide reliable, accurate and rapid support to the American War Fighter."
What if: Robins' mission is complete in providing reliable, accurate and rapid support to the American War Fighter? The link is almost terrifying ... are they so secure in their information that they only provide titles, and NO information? IS their program, created within the GPSS module, intact and Y2K compliant, all the way down through each small computerized piece of equipment?
---
GPSS and "The Tank Factory"
http://www.gpss.co.uk/tankfact.htm
---
MINUTEMAN Software - GPSS/PCtm - (DOS Software)
"GPSS/PC is an efficient implementation of the popular simulation language GPSS (General Purpose Simulation System). Not just a programming language, it is a simulation environment specifically designed for interactive use on today's high speed microprocessors. (Leanne's emphasis) Using GPSS/PC, it is possible to predict the effects of managerial or engineering decisions on complex real world systems."
Subject: Re: Is it valid? FW: Something to ponder
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1998 12:48:53 -0600
From: <phamill@acm.org (Paul Hamill)>
To: "'RMIUG Discussion
List'" <rmiug-discuss@rmiug.org>
>> > There's no direct link between the euro project and the Y2K project, but
>> > the massive size of the simultaneous projects will soon take most of the
>> > world's available programmers.
Sure, Year 2000 conversion is a serious problem, but this is a laughable
statement. "most of the world's available programmers" indeed.
Isn't it ironic how discussions of software date conversions have turned
into Nostradamus-like Doomsday predictions? I guess people just can't get
over the thrill of suggesting that the world will end because of a software glitch:
> > Many computers will assume it's either Jan. 1,
> > 1970, all over again ... or that it's the
> > end of the world
Somehow i think the sun will still come up on Jan. 2, 2000...
************************************************************ * Paul Hamill MSEE, BSME * Illegitimi * * VP of Engineering, Lumio Technologies, LLC * non * * http://www.lumio.com * carborundum * ************************************************************
I agree. The sun probably will still come up -- after any of the dates mentioned here.
Just like it came up the day after Vesuvius ... after Hiroshima ... after Pearl Harbor ...
But, to call this a software "glitch"?
after many sins of omission and commission by mankind, nature or God ... after ... ??
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