Rules for the Road

How to cruise on the new-century
superhighway

People who work at or own a computer should be aware of these two things:

First, they have more processing power at their fingertips at home and at the office than the sum of NASA computers that got the first men on the moon.

Second: Every person with a computer is headed for disaster.

[Note: For an interactive experience, poll the congregation to see how many own computers or use them at work.]

The disaster is this: Your software is headed for a programming crisis. Back in the '60s, when the first computer programs were painstakingly hashed out, no one ever considered that those same programs might still be in use 40 years later.

Reading years as two-digit numbers has worked great since the '60s. The problem occurs after the year 99 becomes 2000--or as it is better known in current computer systems, 00. You say, what's the problem? To a computer, the year 1900 is also 00. As is 1800. As is 1700. Need I go on?

In the year 00, bank computers may suddenly decide that your bank...