'In the scope of the year 2000, I'm not that concerned about the date on my fax machine,' said Steven McManus, communications manager for BankBoston's millennium project team. Until now, they have mostly focused on the software and hardware systems that handle a company's core operations. In fact, experts have only begun to look into what will happen to electronic devices and automated systems that contain embedded computer chips. While Vereen conceded there may be problems with equipment that contains older chips, he blamed politicians and non-technicians for 'fanning the flames and implying the problem is greater than it is.' automakers insist that even their most electronically advanced cars will not be affected by the year 2000. And your car won't start.Įngineers for the Big Three U.S. Outside, the automatic lawn sprinkler spurted into action overnight. (If the pipes freeze and burst, that's an even bigger problem.) 1, 2000, because your home's programable thermostat shut off the heat. The problem is that when the year 2000 arrives, some microcontrollers might interpret 00 as 1900 instead of 2000, causing appliances and other devices with embedded chips to go haywire.Ī microwave on the fritz isn't nearly as calamitous as, say, the collapse of the nation's air traffic control system, but it would be aggravating for people who depend on the conveniences of automation.Ĭonsider this scenario: You wake up shivering on Jan. Like the software in many mainframe and personal computers, some embedded computer chips use a two-digit shorthand to keep track of the date, so that the year 1994, for instance, is written as 94. He even has an index named after him on the American Stock Exchange, the de Jager Year 2000 index, which includes 17 publicly traded companies that focus on year 2000 fixes. That in itself is a risk,' said Peter de Jager, a doomsday prognosticator who has emerged as the leading year 2000 guru. 'There is literally nobody on this planet who can tell you whether the failure rate will be.

Millennium computer software