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Jerry - I have heard, perhaps even read, that Apple does not have this problem. Is that correct? If so, what a stroke of fortune for those of us non-technical types who bought a Mac because we thought it would be "easier." ---- Bob At 2:29 PM 7/17/98, Jerry Finch wrote: >Many of you have probably not heard of the Year 2000 >problem. In a short version what we have is the inability of >a computer to show the year 2000 as different from 1900 >because programmers many years ago tried to save a little >space by giving the date as mm/dd/yy instead of mm/dd/ccyy >where cc is the century. > >If this is the first time you've heard about it, I can >guarantee that it won't be the last. As we draw closer to >2000 there will be a LOT of screaming. > >If you search for "Y2K" (short for year 2000) in a search >engine you will find thousands of pages which will bring you >up to date on this problem, enough to put a real scare into >you, but that isn't the reason for this letter. > >As fancy as my generic computer is, I thought I knew that I >had prepared for the change. I just ran a check program >which showed that I'm not as smart as I thought I was >(something my wife points out several times a day.) One >second after 12/12/1999 24:59, my computer changes to >01/01/1900 - and every time sensitive program I have, such >as Quicken, fails. > >You need to check your computer, or have someone check it >for you. There are three clocks in a computer - if one fails >they all fail. My BIOS clock is the one that failed, even >though I obtained that in 1996. So I must install a new BIOS >chip, perhaps a new motherboard. > >Some of you are shaking you heads, trying to understand what >I'm saying, and I apologize for the technical babble. The >important point is that, even though the saleman told you >the computer is "2000 - compliant" you had better check >anyway. > >There is a FREE program for doing this: >http://www.survive-2000.com/products.htm#Products >called a "Clocks Verification Program." You need to be a >little bit computer literate to run the program, but the >direction are there for you. If you don't think you can do >it, find someone who can. > >Why is it important when we are 17 months away from needing >it? Because the closer we get the more people are going to >panic, the higher the cost to upgrade, the less chance that >you will be able to find a computer tech to do it for you. > >If you get your computer in shape, share the knowledge. Some >estimates say that as many as 80% of the computers now in >homes will fail. It might even mean that this listserv >program will fail, certainly any program that depends on >knowing the date will fail. Only your action can prevent >this problem on your computer. > >This is a serious problem, one that will not go away. I urge >you to take action as soon as you can. > >- >The Official PWP Dumpster Gang Hideout >http://www.newcountry.nu/pd/ >The PWP WebRing >http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=parkie;list >The Parkinson Alliance >http://www.parkinsonalliance.net/