Y2K in 2009

Candace Daisy

There had been warnings about the Y2K virus, but no one had expected it would last over nine years, especially since a computer genius had been running the largest computer software company in the world after the turn of the century.

Throughout the year 1999, people became more and more aware of Y2K, but most said whether or not Y2K eventually turned out to be a problem, they would be ready for it.

During the last year of the 20th century, the big names in computers were all trying to figure out the programming glitch that made computers read the year 2000 as if it were 1900. Federal Revenue in America guessed that it would take about fifty billion dollars to sort out the computer errors in America alone. The larger banks in the world had each spent up to two million dollars to ensure their systems stayed running. People all over the world were encouraged to save cash and stock up on food.

At the turn of the century, much of the developing world broke apart. Despite this calamity, the US market boomed, especially the blue chip stocks and bonds. Due to false comfort and financial meltdowns in countries like Brazil, Mexico, and Malaysia, portfolio investments acted as short-term debtors.

The temptation to flee, for investors with both local and international funds, was there. Few considered Asia, Latin America, or Africa safe bets for investment. Brazil paid about 45 billion just to keep its treasury officials throughout the world awake during the night. Some countries had increased their deposits in other countries. This meant that if bigger countries collapsed, the little ones would go down too.

Still, about nine years after the turn of the century, not everything has been solved. The computers still read 1909.

Anything that was once run by computer isn't back up to snuff. Televisions work, but the TV stations have to be selected manually. Lights, heating systems, stoves, fridges and other household appliances still work.

Only ten out of 119 developing countries had even started Y2K redemption programs. Europe was still getting used to the Euro currency. Japan was thought to be unlikely to take any leadership role while its own economy and politics remained so delicate.

Because of the back-up data repositories that were made in December of 1999, most information can still be found on the Internet, but the dates for everything are inaccurate. Anything that was copyrighted, or trademarked remain without records. Unfortunately, most franchises that have survived have had their trademarks taken over by other people.

Things haven't been made the way they were once made at the end of the last century. Now, they are made like they were when they first came out--by hand. Cars are safer and houses more stable. Unfortunately, the prices for such things haven't gone down at all but have steadily climbed.

Fortunately, the meltdowns or leaks at nuclear power plants due to year 2000-related computer failures was non-existent. A lot of the safety and critical systems weren't controlled by dates and times, so they never really had any major problems. Unknown to the public or the government at the time, major nuclear regulators and operations shared information to ensure safety and stability internationally.

Things have changed in major ways in the ten years of the new millennium. When we wake up every morning, we would naturally expect the power to be off, the faucet not to work and the sewer system not to function. We always give a second thought about whether we'll be able to use the telephone. We most definitely consider the possibility of all those systems going out. City-wide or province-wide, or all at the same time, the utilities may not be working.

When we used to pay with a credit card or an InterAct card that was perfectly valid but had an expiry date past 2000, the computerized cash registers would always seem to lock up and for months afterward glitches would continue to plague the system as they still do to this day.

Still in 2009, shown in time as 1909, it is as if everything that we once had remains, and everything that still is could work again someday. Everyday people use the same services and equipment that they used to use--computers, cash registers, stop-lights--but much of the information was lost over the turn of the century. The knowledge is still there, but to get the knowledge into a workable format is a different question all together.

For those who thought that Y2K would be nothing, they are and were wrong. For those who thought that this was just a simple date that needed to be changed, nice try, but it's worse than that. For those of you who thought that what has happened would happen, congratulations. But why don't you figure out an answer to all of these problems that keep reoccurring?

(c) Candace Daisy 1999
All rights remain with the author.