From what I understand it was actually a reasonably hefty undertaking to re-architect many of those systems because they were built back when optimization was actually important due to an extreme lack of resources. You know, back when shaving off two whole digits from a date was something you'd do because you actually needed the freed up bytes in order to get just that little bit of wiggle room to make the rest of the system logic fit into place. It's difficult for us to imagine now, given how plentiful computing power is. Also keep in mind that a lot of those systems that would have caused trouble weren't your home PC but embedded systems in industrial hardware or the like, where resources were even more at a premium.
Your perception of it being a non-issue is because the autists in the background were good at their job.
It's also nothing compared to the 2038 problem. Unlike Y2k, where the things that needed to change were mostly display-side, and the few things to get missed weren't critical, it is virtually guaranteed that central infrastructure in multiple countries will be missed. Then, in the early morning of January 19, 2038, UTC, these central systems will suddenly believe its December 12, 1912.
I really hope civilization holds together long enough for the 2038 issue to actually be a genuine concern. At this point I'm not terribly optimistic that the infrastructure failures it inflicts will even be a noticeable change from all the infrastructure failures we'll be having from diversity.
From what I understand it was actually a reasonably hefty undertaking to re-architect many of those systems because they were built back when optimization was actually important due to an extreme lack of resources. You know, back when shaving off two whole digits from a date was something you'd do because you actually needed the freed up bytes in order to get just that little bit of wiggle room to make the rest of the system logic fit into place. It's difficult for us to imagine now, given how plentiful computing power is. Also keep in mind that a lot of those systems that would have caused trouble weren't your home PC but embedded systems in industrial hardware or the like, where resources were even more at a premium.
Your perception of it being a non-issue is because the autists in the background were good at their job.
It's also nothing compared to the 2038 problem. Unlike Y2k, where the things that needed to change were mostly display-side, and the few things to get missed weren't critical, it is virtually guaranteed that central infrastructure in multiple countries will be missed. Then, in the early morning of January 19, 2038, UTC, these central systems will suddenly believe its December 12, 1912.
I really hope civilization holds together long enough for the 2038 issue to actually be a genuine concern. At this point I'm not terribly optimistic that the infrastructure failures it inflicts will even be a noticeable change from all the infrastructure failures we'll be having from diversity.
Fifteen years out? I'd say the odds are pretty even.
Fair enough.