On January 19, 2038, many current computer systems that are using the signed 32-bit UNIX time system will malfunction. 64-bit architectures, and some newer 32-bit ones, are not affected. The popular x86 and ARM systems are. The GNU C library that is commonly associated with Linux based systems has been hesitant patch this issue for years, but some progress has been made as of 2024. Fixing the issue the simple way will cause compatibility issues with existing software so it’s not as easy as when a brand new architecture is developed.
Some of the more advanced vehicles with a navigation system or infotainment may use an embedded operating system that has the 2K38 issue. Anyone want to test the clocks on their cars?
Many embedded systems are 32-bit.
The ATSC digital TV standard is affected. No way to know what TVs and tuner boxes will do without participation from a TV broadcaster or professional testing. Will they loop around to 1902 or crash?
All the current IP cameras that I know of are affected. Time keeping on a security camera is rather important.
Older 32-bit Android cell phones are.
32-bit UNIX/Linux computers are. Patches are just being developed now.
Home routers and similar devices. Some are 32-bit embedded GNU/Linux, but more than just GNU libc or Linux is affected.
Most of the electronics that I use are 10 to 30 years old. A digital camera that I got cheap that I keep around won’t go to 2025. So if something that can’t be used in 14 years is bought now, in my case half of its life is lost.
I had a computer program on my computer fail b/c of Y2K. Intuit, forget which of their programs it was. I phoned them up, and without blinking they provided me a code that allowed me to download a brand new version of the same program. The new version had useful functions the old one didn’t have, so other than a little inconvenience, Y2K was mostly upside for me.
Those days are over. Your product has been purchased by a competitor for the primary purpose of taking the product off the market and ending support for it.
+1
At the “crucial” moment for the Y2K “crisis”, I was somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, on my way back from Europe. When I had initially planned that trip, a friend asked me if it was wise to be flying at that precise time, and I assured them that I would be safe.
When zero hour approached, I will admit that I did have a bit of apprehension, but–as we now know–Y2K was not the impending crisis that many people believed it to be.
I am going to worry about Y2K38 just as much as I did Y2K…
Y2K was not a problem due to the massive amount of work that was done behind the scenes for the two years leading up to Jan 1, 2000.
I and many of my coworkers fixed lots of Y2K code in our Digital UNIX operating system. We also worked with multiple customers around the globe, giving them:
New compilers that would report any Y2K code concerns,
And Y2K scanners that they could run on the binaries in their environment.
Every operating system provider made similar investments, both in their code and with their customers. The Y2K bugs that got fixed would have caused serious havoc.
The fact that Y2K was just a “ho-hum” event is a huge testament to how successful numerous companies were preparing for it.
We chose a gambling boat to party like it’s 1999, hoped Y2K would cause big payouts from the slot machines! No such luck. When the boat returned where the coast was visible, saw the lights were still on.
Any vehicle concerns about losing the functionality of my Navigation or Infotainment systems in 14 years are pretty low on my priority list.
Managed to survive the lack of Navigation on my older cars by printing Google Maps and the demise of my “Infotainment System” when manufacturers stopped including Cassette and CD Players on new cars so I think I survive this just fine.
+1
I had faith that–unseen by outsiders–companies and governments were doing what was necessary in order to avoid the predicted Y2K catastrophe. The media kept telling us that planes would fall from the sky, that electrical systems and water systems would stop functioning, and that other serious problems would take place, but those scare tactics proved to be groundless.
Similarly, the folks who are currently predicting the collapse of the electrical grid because of EVs are ignoring the unseen actions being taken by utility companies and other energy suppliers.
The problem can affect Unix and Linux systems…HOWEVER…Most won’t see a problem. Modern operating systems have addressed this issue years ago. You can’t go out and buy a new desktop or laptop that’s 32-bit architecture. All are 64 bit.
The systems that can be affected are embedded systems that never get upgraded. I suspect there are some. I have no idea how widespread they are though.
I worked on the Y2K problems…and while there was some crazy scare tactics going on - many of it was very very real. Why many of the dire predictions didn’t happen is because a lot of the companies were proactive in preventing it. Some older Nuclear Power plants would have had major problems if they weren’t proactive. I was consulting at the time and worked for 2 different warehouse systems around 1998 that would have completely shut down if we hadn’t fixed the Y2K bug. That was also the time I started consulting to insurance companies. Many were still running (and still are running) on old IBM mainframes with software that hasn’t changed much in 40 years. Many old time Cobal programmers came out of retirement to help the insurance industry fix this problem.
The State of NJ is in that category. Every time that plans are made to replace/update the state’s computer equipment, the legislature says that we don’t have enough money. Somehow (probably with the help of older programmers) they were able to avoid a Y2K catastrophe, but I think that their luck will run out at some point unless they scrap their old equipment.
It’s actually cheaper for them design a new system using modern equipment with modern software then to keep paying the several million dollars a year in maintenance/leasing costs for those old IBM mainframes. My insurance company Y2K consulting was to complete rewrite a few of their legacy software systems onto smaller servers and front-end client server applications - which was later rewritten into a web-application.
Ha ha ha. As instructed, I sat in my home office waiting for the clock to tick over to 2000, then I was ready to take corrective action when everything blew up. In a frantic move thousands if dollars had been spent on new equipment and revising software to be ready for everything to go belly up.
By 1:00 it was clear everything was just fine so I reported in and went to bed. Silly humans. But hey, we needed new equipment anyway.
In third grade we read the chicken little sky is falling nursery rhyme. And it’s 2024 and yeah it’s hot some places but cold in others but the islands are still there and life goes on.
But then it is important to look behind the curtain a little and follow the money.
