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To: hedgetrimmer
Medved shouldn't forget the federal government bankrolled the massive effort to rewrite software that had potential Y2K problems.

It was due to a massive influx of money, that Y2K was rendered harmless. If the government hadn't spent that money, the global corporations would have had to do it.

I'm going to label that 'a load'.

99.9999999% of the 'concern' with a so-called 'date' in any of the EMBEDDED applications DID NOT EXIST. Timing in those applications exists solely to click off seconds (or milliseconds or microseconds) to implement proportional/deriviative feedback loops or control the sequencing of a process; EVEN those higher-level apps that you might cite already had addressed the date issue on account of the need to make forecasting (you know, time and date into the future) functions in those apps work correctly ...

105 posted on 01/06/2007 8:46:34 PM PST by _Jim (Highly recommended book on the Kennedy assassination - Posner: "Case Closed")
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To: _Jim
RE: I'm going to label that 'a load'.

The discussion that prompted the funding comment was due to me relating my 30+ years experience on variuos mainframe applications and what happen worldwide during the late 1990s.

A large amount of mainframe code, especially in COBOL, in both private and government evolved over the decades, some from the early 1970s. Punch cards were still in common use; core and mass storage were limited. Every byte counted.

We were all aware (from time to time) that one day our DDDYY and MMDDYY dates in all government and corporate mainframe applications were going to "byte" us.

But there was never the will or money to fix the problem before its time. I don't recall but I bet 500 million dollars worldwide was spent -- the largest portion actually needed to fix the problem.

In fact, the inexpensive and good job done by Indian programmers help build their appeal that's paid off handsomely for them. Of course, scanning code and actually developing systems are dissimilar, kinda.

110 posted on 01/06/2007 9:13:11 PM PST by WilliamofCarmichael (If modern America's Man on Horseback is out there, Get on the damn horse already!)
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To: _Jim
EVEN those higher-level apps that you might cite already had addressed the date issue

Well this just isn't so. I know for a fact that online brokerage firms all had y2k teams examining and rewriting all their software.

Brokerages benefitted from the Clinton R&D funds to pay for the Y2K rewrites.

I also know for a fact that municple water systems, power grids et al, all had reason to rewrite for y2k.
112 posted on 01/06/2007 9:41:31 PM PST by hedgetrimmer (I'm a millionaire thanks to the WTO and "free trade" system--Hu Jintao top 10 worst dictators)
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