Hi and welcome to my Newsflash.Here I write about some important some interesting and some funny new articles that I get from the internet ,newspapers and magazines.
A U.S. Federal Government y2k report:
So what exactly is Y2K?
You've probably heard people talking about "Y2K" at home or on the news; you may have wondered what it meant. Y2K is shorthand for Year 2000 and is used most often when people talk about the Year 2000 computer problem.
Why do so many computers have the same problem? Back in the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's when computers were first built, the people who designed the programs that make computers run used only two numbers instead of four to indicate the year. For example, 1998 was 98, and 1927 was 27. They did this to save computer space and money. Many of the old programs are still running computers today. And, out of habit, many computer programmers continued to use two numbers instead of four in the 1980's and even in the 1990's. In the year 2000, however, if computers and their programs are not fixed, computers will think that 00 means 1900. That means if you graduate in the year 2004, the computer will think that you already graduated in 1904!
The Y2K computer problem is found in computers around the world. Many small computers, called microprocessors, or computer chips, run machines, such as your VCR and the elevators in our office buildings. Thousands of people have been hired to work on the problem in the government, in the places you shop, in the companies that give you water, heat, and power, and in your schools. The Federal government has been working on fixing its Y2K computer problem since 1989. No one is sure how big the problem is, but everyone agrees that most of it can be fixed by the year 2000.
Will Y2K affect me?
Y2K could affect you. You might not notice it, but little things may happen.
Think about all of the things around you that use computers. You wake up in the morning to an electric clock, watch a videotape in your VCR on your TV, play video games, and heat up your dinner in a microwave oven. All of these machines and many other household appliances work because of the computer chip inside of them. Most businesses use computers every day. Your bank, your grocery store, and your schools use computers. Police stations, fire stations, and hospitals use computers to help people. If all of those computers make small mistakes, there could be a lot of little problems.
These little problems could affect you in many different ways. You may not have electricity for a day or two. Your computer might add numbers wrong if dates are involved. Some stores might not be able to get in your favorite books and games for you and your friends to buy. All in all, though, the Y2K computer problem should not be a disaster. It will not blow up your computer, and it is not likely to cause serious damage in your community. With everyone helping, it might not even cause any little problems.
