Off topic: I would appreciate anyone jumping in if I have made an error in what I am saying. Unfortunately, I have forgotten most of my binary code programming so I am at a disadvantage as to how much more capacity a mainframe computer or PC would need to recognize a 4 digit date, especially a modern one. Ole 49r, I am talking about modern mainframes, not the ones that used to fill a room just do to multiplication. I guess it depends on when the major corporations, businesses, banks and governments bought their mainframes. Maybe someone could definitely say whether or banks and large companies were "somewhat recent" purchasers of main frame systems, but I believe they were. I would not think that they bought them back in the 50's and have been using the same ones since then, although I may be mistaken. Apple could do it when they created their systems, and I find that going back to the 50's as the source of the problem may confuse the issue. The millenium problem is that PCs and IBM based mainframes simply do not recognize the date 2000 in their hardware construction, as we all know. At that point we are at 1900 and that spells trouble for everything that is dated. If I were to change the software controlled settings for the date on my computer to 2002, my computer would show 1902. Those computers did not need to analyze the 4 digit date, they merely needed to have a capacity to have an accurate date for the computer to reference. I still fail to see how that hardware limitation was necessary even 10-15 years ago.
The architecture of an IBM is different than an Apple and perhaps someone can elaborate on why Macs can recognize the 4 digit date, and a PC can not. My thinking is that if a Mac could be designed to do it, why couldn't a PC at the time? Doesn't Apple make mainframe computers? Why haven't new PCs been designed with this problem in mind? Why is this all of a sudden a HUGE disastrous problem a few years before the millenium that is on everyone's mind? Didn't anyone think of the possibility 10 years ago and if they did why did they ignore it? Why are PCs being made and sold today that still have this ridiculous problem? To me, it is like waiting until the last minute, and believe me it is 11:59 PM as far as the mainframe situation and millenium problem goes, when midnight spells disaster.
I will investigate the specifics of the hardware problem as I would be interested to know. It is possible that software based solutions will come out to address this problem, but I think a PC would be easier to correct than a mainframe. |
