Millenium bug infests the whole office

Home Office Computing, Jan, 1998 by Robert J. Hawkins

By now, everyone knows the sound of computer locks rolling over to 01/01/00: Crash. Happy Millennium!

But the year 2000 (Y2K) problem, in which computers and software register the new millennium as 1900 and subsequently malfunction, is not restricted to desktop and mainframe PCs. Automated and time-sensitive devices are all around us. Their embedded microchips and programming code, dedicated to a single timekeeping task, could be carrying the same ticking time bomb as your PC.

A typical fax machine, for example, contains at least one embedded system that controls date and time stamping. Microwave ovens digital watches,answering machines, copiers, PDAs, voice-mail systems, smart telephones, digital cameras -- any hardware with real-time clocks can be bit by the bug.

And it doesn't stop there. Your workspace may have date- or time-sensitive-embedded computer chips in its elevators, thermostats, security systems, fire alarms, irrigation programs, lighting, and door locks.

For some of these products, testing the Y2K bug is exceedingly simple. Want to see how your fax machine or coffeemaker will react on the big day? Push the date forward. Don't wait two years; do it now. Devices that freeze or malfunction should be phased out over the next 24 months.

Of course, this test won't work on every machine in your office. But? running through the streets in terror won't bring your digital camera back to life either.

"There's no reason to panic," says Ann K. Coffou managing director of the research firm Giga Information Group's Year 2000 Relevance Service in Boston. "Just use the time now to decide how to deal with this problem."

Coffou warned Congress last year that too little was known about the impact Of the Y2K bug. Worse, she pointed out, manufacturers weren't being forthcoming with information. That has since changed. Makers of equipment using embedded processors are starting to alert consumers to potential bugs and fixes, usually via their Web sites. And office equipment is now beginning to appear with "Y2K compliant" labels, says Coffou.

If you plan to buy time-sensitive office equipment, Coffou suggests holding off until at least June 1998. By then, she says, we should all have a greater understanding of the year 2000 effect on embedded processors.

For more information, log on to www.year2000.com, a major clearing-house of information with dozens of links. Also, many state agencies are posting lists of Y2K-compliant computer and office equipment. Florida's Year 2000 Project is an excellent example at y2k.state.fl.us.