Year-2000 Chip Danger Looms Large
With less than a year left to avert failures, computer experts and engineers are finding that year-2000 computer chip and software problems may be much more severe than anticipated.
Frautschi, M.A. Preprint. Embedded systems and the year 2000 problem. Available at http://www.tmn.com/~frautsch/y2k2.html. Additional technical information about embedded systems can be found at http://www.iee.org.uk/2000risk/.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission audit report on the Seabrook nuclear power plant in New Hampshire can be found at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/Y2K/Audit/Y2K50443.html.
The text of the United Nations draft resolution on global implications of the year 2000 date conversion problem is available at http://www.un.org/members/yr2000/draftres.htm.
Further Readings:
de Jager, P. 1999. Y2K: So many bugs. . . so little time. Scientific American (January):88. Peter de Jager's Year 2000 Information Center can be found at http://www.year2000.com/.
Peterson, I. 1996. Fatal Defect: Chasing Killer Computer Bugs. New York: Vintage.
______. 1993. Reviving software dinosaurs. Science News 144(Aug. 7):88.
The President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion has a helpful Web site at http://www.y2k.gov/.
The General Accounting Office provides Y2K-related documents at http://www.gao.gov/y2kr.htm.
A wide range of important papers on policy initiatives, trade, economics, finance, and banking can be found at the General Services Administration's Office of Information Technology Web site at http://www.itpolicy.gsa.gov/.
The National Electrical Reliability Council has a Web site at http://www.nerc.com/.
Information about the World Future Society is available at http://www.wfs.org/.
Sources:
Harrison W. Fox
U.S. House of Representatives
Room B373
Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515Mark A. Frautschi
Shakespeare & Tao Consulting
49 Merrion Court
Lutherville, MD 21093-1845
Web site: http://www.tmn.com/y2k/Michael P. Harden
Century Technology Services
Suite 203
1313 Dolley Madison Boulevard
McLean, VA 22101
Web site: http://members.aol.com/CTSI2000/Jonathan Spalter
Chief Information Officer
U.S. Information Agency
Fourth Floor
301 Fourth Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20547
From Science News, Vol. 155, No. 1, January 2, 1999, p. 4. Copyright © 1999 by Science Service.
copyright 1999 ScienceService