Y2K: A Global Meltdown That Never Was

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Y2K: A Global Meltdown That Never Was
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This article recounts the widespread fear and preparation surrounding the Y2K bug, a potential computer glitch at the turn of the millennium. Despite the anxieties of widespread disruptions, the Y2K problem ultimately did not materialize.

Mike Cupo, a systems operator for Public Service Electric and Gas Company, uses a special red phone to talk via radio to PSE&G staffers in the field, during a simulated Y2K drill at company headquarters in Newark, N.J., on April 9, 1999. Power plant operators across the country held drills to make sure they could keep electricity flowing if year 2000 computer glitches prevented them from communicating with each other.

In December 1999, the world prepared for the impending global meltdown known as Y2K. It all stemmed from a seemingly small software glitch: Many older computer programs had coded dates using only two numbers for the year. At midnight on Dec. 31, a misinterpretation of'00' in the year 2000 might cause widespread errors leading to mass panic.for Y2K was probably'the single largest technology management challenge in history.' The bug threatened a cascade of potential disruptions — blackouts, medical equipment failures, banks shutting down, travel screeching to a halt — if the systems and software that helped keep society functioning no longer knew what year it was. These fears gave rise to another anxiety-inducing acronym: TEOTWAWKI —'the end of the world as we know it.' Thankfully, the so-called'year 2000 problem' didn't live up to the hype. NPR covered Y2K preparations for several years leading up to the new millennium. Here's a snapshot of how people coped, as told to NPR Network reporters. Computer specialist and grassroots organizer Paloma O'Riley compared the scale and urgency of Y2K prep to telling somebody to change out a rivet on the Golden Gate Bridg

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