vpFREE2 Forums

tedchee · January 14, 2020, 4:49pm

In a message dated 9/23/2004 4:51:46 PM Pacific Standard Time,
vpFREE@yahoogroups.com writes:

<<< Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 13:13:21 -0000

···

From: "bornloser1537" <bornloser1537@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: I need LV Hilton promotion info

Yes! Yes! Yes! I cannot agree more!

A human being SHOULD be able to fix any software problem. But, just
think back to the "Y2K" debaucle of just a few years ago. Too much
commercial software is (and has been) written by incompetents.>>>

Many of the Y2K problems were associated with old systems where they had to
bring a lot of old programmers out of retirement. At the time the computers
were built, no one imagined that the computers would still be running when we
switched from needing 2 digits to 4 digits to show what yr it was.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Lucky_Lucy · January 14, 2020, 6:10pm

Many of the Y2K problems were associated with old systems where they

had to

bring a lot of old programmers out of retirement. At the time the

computers

were built, no one imagined that the computers would still be

running when we

switched from needing 2 digits to 4 digits to show what yr it was.

Yeah, I was one of those "old programmers" but didn't get caught up in
the Y2K hassle. For the youngsters: believe it or not, memory
capacity of the old machines were small and precious. If our programs
were a little too large the machine had to use virtual memory, only it
wasn't on a hard drive (no such thing), it was on magnetic tape. So
now the program only ran as fast as the tape drive could spin and read
the reels of tape -- very slow. Time on the 'beast' was very
expensive so we used every trick in the book to cut the size of
programs, including a two digit year designation.

Fourty years later and quantum leaps in computer technology, those old
programs were still in operation.

Rick (now only conserned with VP random number generators)

···

--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, TedChee@a... wrote:

Peter · January 14, 2020, 6:10pm

You are correct, of course, which just proves my point. Very
naive "programmers", in the early days, refused to take relevant
things into consideration, and made assumptions that were grossly
wrong.

I admit that "memory" and "file space", in the old days, were real
problems, and, taking the easy route of using 2 digits, instead of
4, to represent the "year" was a route often taken. However, there
were (and are) clever ways around those sorts of things.
Most "programmers", back then, either were not aware of what could
be done or simply chose not to do so.

.....bl

In a message dated 9/23/2004 4:51:46 PM Pacific Standard Time,
vpFREE@yahoogroups.com writes:

Many of the Y2K problems were associated with old systems where

they had to