YOLO COUNTY AND THE Y2K PROBLEM
By Dave Rosenberg
Yolo County Supervisor, District Four
So, what's the big deal? It's the "Year 2000" problem (or Y2K as it's known) and its coming. What's the problem? Start counting with me ... 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 00, 01. Whoops. Something's wrong here. OK, let's try something different ... 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 1900, 1901. Something seems wrong here also? One last try! 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001. Yeah, that's what we expect to see.
The fuss is about those first two digits of the four digit year. Back in the early days of computing, storage and memory were expensive. It was universally understood what century we were all in, so most information systems did not store information for the next century.Unfortunately, in just a few months, there will be a great deal of confusion as to which century a year is in. It is already happening. Do you have one of those check debit cards? Check your expiration date on the card. Does the date end in 00? I recently heard a story about a gentlemen whose debit card expiration date is 05/01/00. He was having breakfast at a national restaurant chain. He offered to pay the bill. He used his card. But the cash register wouldn't take the card. It was expired according to the cash register. The register was programmed to think of 05/01/00 as May 1, 1900. We humans learn and make decisions on our own. Machines with computer brains and programming can only do what they have been told to do. Luckily, the waitress was able to manually enter the expiration date to be 05/01/99, the card was accepted and the bill was paid. This is just one simple example of the year 2000 date problem. Luckily, there was a way around the problem. This time.Some experts say that this self-inflicted problem in the information community will be the final blow to life as we know it. I find that opinion greatly exaggerated. Now, will I fly in a plane on January 1, 2000? I think not. Will I transact crucial financial business on that same day, same week? Probably not.One thing is certain. "Strap on the seatbelts, we're in for a bumpy ride." Fortunately, there are people working day and night to correct this date error. There are others who are working on plans to minimize the unknown effects resulting from the change in the century. Two examples stated in a report by Peter de Jager from "Moving to Zero - September 1998" located at www.year2000com. note that the government of Sweden has decided that it will shut down all the nuclear power plants during the century changeover if there is any doubt remaining that they've addressed every possible contingency, regardless of the cost. Several airlines will not fly planes the evening of December 31, 1999, if they have any doubts about the safety of the aircraft computer flight systems during this time.In Yolo County, the Information Technology Division of County government has been in the process of assessing the risks inherent in the Y2K problem since 1996. They are working towards a goal of replacing, repairing or retiring information systems that are not ready for the Year 2000 shift. Yolo County Government has a total of 74 systems which have been reviewed for Y2K compliance. Of these systems, 46 were not Y2K compliant! As to these 46, we are doing the following: 21 are in the process of being replaced or eliminated, 12 have been modified and are being prepared for testing, 13 remain to be modified.According to the de Jager article, here are some bad news/good news items for the computer industry as a whole:
Bad News.
(1) We are addressing the problem way too late in the ball game.
(2) We will not fix every system on time.
(3) We will see business failures due to year 2000 issues.
(4) Government systems will fail at a high rate.
(5) Small companies and city and county governments are in a better position to adapt and be ready.
Good News.
(1) Planes will not fall out of the sky due to year 2000 issues.
(2) The global telecommunications system will not fail.
(3) The oil industry will not grind to a halt.
(4) The financial industries will be the most stable of all industries.
(5) ATM, debit cards, credit cards and checks will not fail.
(6) The power grid will not fail.
The world will not end due to year 2000 date problems, but undoubtedly there will be some systems that will fail. Concerned citizens should contact their retirement systems, banks, credit unions, etc. Anyone who provides critical and essential services to them. Ask them: Are you Y2K compliant? Are your information systems ready for the turn of the century? Keep asking until you feel confident in their answers.