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A clock tower in West Virginia, built in 1872,
counts down to the new millennium.
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Y2K Central
TIME Digital's guide to the essential Y2K resources on the Internet
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It's all much ado about nothing -- two nothings to be exact, the two zeros
that represent the year 2000 in many of the world's critically important
computer systems.
When computers were first being developed back in the
'40s and '50s, every bit and byte of memory was precious, so the
engineers chose to save a couple by representing the current year with just
two digits -- "45" instead of "1945." Now, with the millennium fast
approaching, many computers aren't equipped to display dates after the year
1999, and when January 1, 2000, arrives they just might stop working
altogether. And yes, these are the same computers that run our power grid,
keep track of our money, sit on our desktops, and control the little
digital clocks on our microwaves. Will they stop working at midnight on New
Year's Eve? And what happens if they do?
TIME Digital has gathered together the information you'll need to get ready
for whatever Y2K brings. We'll tell you how to make sure your own PC is
ready for Y2K, what the government is doing to get the rest of the country
ready, what dates to watch out for, whether it's safe to fly on January 1,
and what the heck embedded chips are and why you should worry about them.
We'll also guide you through the media's coverage of the problem, including
a series of feature articles from TIME magazine. So don't panic! But stay
informed, because the clock is ticking.
Photo: (AP)
Click below to search TIME
Digital (and TIME magazine) for more on the Y2K bug:
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