FREE ESSAY ON MODERN DAY PLAGUE

MODERN DAY PLAGUE

Modern Day Plague
Argument: Mankind has become too dependent on computers, and we as a society are covering
up our errors and not facing the facts, to avoid panic.
About four years ago, a new pop headline came hot of the press rumoring something about
home computers having problems when the year 2000 hit. The year 2000, that's six years
away, people thought. Many believed in six years it would be fixed. Thus, the headline
got thrown into the archives along with egg yolks being high in cholesterol and the FBI
and the CIA being against each other. Well, today the computer problem has resurrected
itself. The downside is that, the second round of hype, as some have called it, is being
looked upon less seriously than before.
What is the problem anyway, what's the big deal? Many have asked this question without a
definite answer, weakening any bit of concern. Here it is put simply. All computers
contain small processors that contain a current date. This processor comes in millions of
different types and has been for close to 30 years. These processors are responsible for
simple and complex operations and in some cases, for recording data. All of these
functions require dates to perform. Well, the problem hits when one looks at how all
processors have been made. All they contain are six numbers, 2 for the day, 2 for the
month and 2 for the year. What about when 99 wants to flip to 00? The computer thinks 00
is before 99. Therefore, many go haywire and perhaps crash. The only way to fix it, is by
replacing or up dating ALL processors to record four digits for the year.
When this problem first resurfaced about eight months back, the few that were paying
attention realized the danger. Many suggested the idea of the world collapsing. This drew
enough rally to form a congressional committee in May of (19)98, less than two years to
the millennium. Y2K, as it is now known, was targeted more toward government and business
application rather than home PC's. Why is that? Mainly because there is much more on the
line. All businesses, utilities and transportation companies could be seriously affected.
This also includes all forms of data storage as well, like the Census Bureau, IRS and
Social Security. The unfortunate part about specifying to these main groups, is that the
public is left out.
Up until now, there have been only a handful of T.V. news reports about Y2K. This is a
definite problem for several reasons. Today's culture is tuned to nightly news for all
the issues. For many, it's all that they know. The only in depth documents on Y2K can be
found in section E5 of news papers or on the internet. Two sources that might require a
little time to research. Another problem is that most of the population thinks of
computers (processors) as sitting on top of desks accompanied with a monitor, keyboard
and mouse. Well, if that were the case, it wouldn't be all that hard to fix. The real
problem exists when all processors must be updated or replaced manually. According to the
Committee of Government Management, Information and Technology, as of August 1998, less
than 10% of companies questioned, had begun looking at these embedded processors for
testing. Many of these processors are hard or impossible to reach. These account for some
600+ satellites orbiting above, which operate all ATM's, cell phones, pagers and airline
guidance systems.
Many believe that the public isn't being revealed the facts intentionally. They feel that
the government is keeping it quite to prevent widespread panic. If fear spread that
business could collapse worldwide due to Y2K, there might be a preemptive collapse due to
a crash of stock markets and banks. It's a lose: lose situation. Even if 20% of investors
pulled their money out of the U.S. stock markets, there would still be a complete
collapse. This report has been made several times by different market analysists. Another
worst-cased scenario would be if everyone wanted to pull cash out of banks. Currently
there is only 4% of the actual secured amount is out in currency. This leaves every
American with only $68 dollars each. In September, President Clinton announced that the
U.S. will be 100% compliant by 2000. That same month the Fed announced, for the first
time, that they will boost the amount of currency in the US by 50 billion (1/3).This was
done in case anyone wanted to have extra cash for the year 2000. If there isn't any worry
why make more money. Another report announced by the FAA, reported that they too will be
100% ready for Y2K. However, IBM, the maker of the 40 computers operating the FAA,
replied that the computers are so out of date that they must be replaced.
Today, every single utility and good we buy at the store will be affected if something
isn't done. Every piece is so inter-connected that even minor failures could lead to big
failures. This was just proven in San Francisco. Close to 1,000,000 people lost power
when a construction crew tripped a breaker 40 miles from the bay area. According to the
North American Electric Reliability Council, all of North America is powered by more than
a thousand powerplants. These are all joined together at 4 main grid stations to prevent
brownouts if one plant goes down. However, if something should happen to a few power
plants, or even worse one of the grids, up to 200 million people could be without power.
In fact, they would be left without any utility for that matter since gas, water and
telephone companies require that same power.
How well could man survive if this problem isn't resolved? The real problem is that no
one is really paying close attention to this matter. It seems that other issues are
getting all the ratings, while the millennium keeps approaching. With a little over a
year, and a majority of the people not clued in, will there be enough time? This will be
one of the biggest tests that man has ever challenged, yet we are the creators of our
enemy.