(January 1999) Heard about the embedded chip problem? Embedded chips are those little
microprocessors without keyboards that regulate your microwave and other
appliances. They also happen to control crucial elements of the
infrastructure, including utilities, telecommunications and transportation.
The problem is that many of these chips perform date-related functions
(such as keeping maintenance schedules) and may fail when the date change
happens.
The British Institution of
Electrical Engineers has addressed this problem in very technical
language on its web site. The information is excellent, but don't click here
if you're looking for a light read: The problems are complex, and these
folks are writing for other engineers.
Trying to figure out if an embedded chip device is compliant or not can be a
very tricky business. Because of the legal and economic consequences,
manufacturers have a powerful incentive to... well... lie about
the compliance of their products. Still, talking to the manufacturer about
a particular device is at least the first step toward figuring out whether
it will handle the year 2000. Both
The Embedded Processor Y2K page and The Year 2000 Support Centre provide
extensive lists of vendors and manufacturers that have statements about the Y2K compliance
of their products. Go here to find out if a specific device is
compliant.
If you are concerned about the embedded chip issue and want to analyze your
business, the Year 2000 Support Centre provides a list of where to look for embedded systems
in your organization. If you want to call in the professionals, go to
this excellent list of
Year 2000 Embedded Systems Vendors, Associations and Manufacturers.
For more information on embedded chips and Y2K, the Year 2000 Support Centre
also provides a lengthy list of resources and solutions for Automated Equipment and Embedded
Systems. To get the alarmist side of the embedded chip issue, the Gary North Year 2000 Forum provides
links to more than 100 articles and lively postings relating to those
fragile embedded chips.
