Y2K bug: Ready or not here it comes

The countdown is tick, tick, ticking away, and time really is of the essence.

The much heralded, much feared millennium bug, also known as the Year 2000 (Y2K) bug, is getting ready to strike. Few world events, save a royal wedding or two and major sports gatherings, have whipped up as much anticipation and excitement as the dawning of the third millennium.

It brings with it great hopes for better times ahead, and the opportunity to start afresh in a unique passage of time.

Yet the hopes are clouded by fears about the potential ravages of Y2K.

It remains a difficult concept to grasp because it is unprecedented in human history. It can be put down both to human brilliance and the accompanying failure to realize that a very real and potentially perplexing problem could lie around the corner.

The glitch is due to older computer systems being unable to distinguish between the year 2000 and 1900, due to the binary system used for the final two digits for dates established when computer technology started to become widespread in the 1950s.

The first articles predicting possible problems were published in the late 1970s, some of them authored by the very same pioneers of the computer industry. They warned that the problem could disrupt systems and cause a range of problems in businesses and the community at large.

At the outset, with the comfort of several years before Y2K would become an issue, few took the problem seriously. The issue of Y2K did not come to the fore of the public and government consciousness until the beginning of this decade, when daunting predictions of what could go wrong started to make the rounds.

Gloom and doom sayers have predicted all manner of disasters, prominent among them the ghastly scenario of the accidental firing of nuclear warheads and airplanes dropping out of the skies as outdated nuclear computer systems go haywire.

Procrastinators may wave off the worst of the predictions, choosing to take the ostrich stance and pulling their heads out of the sand on Jan. 2, 2000.

They contend they will find the world none the worse for wear and people going about their business unhindered. Y2K, they sniff, is just another opportunity for the world's worrywarts to get bent out of shape over what will be a minor hassle, if that.

The reality of the problem actually falls somewhere between the two extremes. Thankfully, Doomsday scenarios will probably not be played out on Jan. 1, and people will not wake up to find the world falling apart around them.

But experts warn there is the strong likelihood of glitches, particularly in Asia. Several organizations have named Indonesia one of the countries to watch for potential problems. The now legendary comment of an Indonesian government official that "we will have at least six hours on Dec. 31 to monitor what is happening in Europe" has not boosted confidence about preparations.

A seminar on Y2K in March concluded that Asia still has to catch up with the rest of the world. It includes countries like Indonesia, hobbled by the economic crisis and with pressing political problems on its mind, but also extends to wealthy Japan, a world technological leader.

But not all Asian countries are dragging their feet and hoping against hope that everything will be all right on the night.

At the forefront of making sure it is ready to zap the Y2K threat is HSBC, whose worldwide banking network is renowned for its focus on efficiency. The company conducts regular maintenance and updates of its computer and technological systems to ensure they are up to standard for when the world greets the new millennium. (Bruce Emond)