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Letter: Y10K bug

Published 19 February 2000

From Paul Johnson

I wish to claim the right to name a new computer bug. Rather than calling it
the “Y10K” bug, I declare it as the “PJ10K” bug in honour of my name.

I hereby give Bill Gates 8000 years warning that computer systems cannot cope
with a 5-digit year. Try it on an Excel spreadsheet to see that adding days from
say 25 December 9999 works OK until you turn the new century. From then
´Ç²Ôâ€Â£´Ç³Ù³ó¾±²Ô²µ.

This may seem trivial at this time, but beware. There is a possibility that
human kind may develop time travel in the next century or two. If our intrepid
time lords scoot off into the future without adequately configuring their
computers for a 5-digit year, who knows what will happen to them?

paul.johnson@alcoa.com.au

Issue no. 2226 published 19 February 2000

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