I was in business at the time and in the months before received many calls on a daily basis from computer companies offering to review and proof our office systems against the threat which at best could lose us all our data and at worst send the global economy back to the stone age.
Of course such companies wanted a lot of money to proof hardware and software against the Y2K issue. The fears and ignorances of business owners, including myself, led to the payment of tangible sums to the so called experts for their services. There were stark warnings, reinforced by media and Government campaigns which certainly put the frighteners on the population at large who depended so much on Technology and computer operated systems from everyday appliances to elevators, burglar alarms and even in cars.
The inkling of a possible problem had been a matter of interest to computer boffins. The issue revolved around a potential inability for built in systems to cope with a simple date and time change from four digits to only two, brought on by the multiple zero's in the numerical representation of the year 2000 and as the year end turned over from 1999.
These aspects of computer programs can be, by their very nature, arbitrary and this only added to the uncertainty about what could happen to spoil the greatest party atmosphere the modern world had seen.
Software Systems Engineers got busy as public perception of the Millenium Bug grew and grew in relation to homes, livelihoods and financial stability. Scaremongers gave over a lot of column inches to scenarios of a complete malfunction of the global financial system preying on a primary concern of the masses.
It was the critically important systems of banking, utilities, health and welfare that soaked up man-hours and huge budgets to meet the required levels of not only technical due diligence but also to convince the public that there was 100% being done to counter any meltdown.
Of even more importance were the systems that controlled the arsenals of nuclear weaponry amongst the then super powers of the USA and Russia.
The nagging doubt was that the New Years Eve countdowns in Time Square and Red Square could be acted out not by revellers but deep down in the bunkers and silo's which housed multiple missiles and warheads as a consequence of the Millenium Bug gliches.
The US Military had been working on protocols for every eventuality for some 5 years prior to the new millenium and this had included a delegation of high ranking commanders from Russia in residence on American soil for two months to run tests and exercises to verify that erroneous data would not trigger off World War Three.
The level of co-operation between long-standing former adversaries from diverse political doctrines was unprecedented.
As the sun rose in the Pacific Time Zone heralding in the year 2000 it became evident that nothing of concern was happening to the global computer networks.
Perhaps, secretly, nothing had been expected after all but no-one had been prepared to take the risk. No serious problems had been reported but then again many, including my own business, had taken action to eliminate dodgy operating systems. This piecemeal and sometimes haphazard fixing approach may have had a cumulative effect so as to not spoil the party celebrations.
There was a brief intake of breath with the reports, later confirmed to be true, of the launch of two missiles from Russia although this turned out to be a sneak strike on the Chechen Republic as part of the wider conflict in that region and not a rogue computer under the influence of the Y2K bug.
Many did prepare for the end of the world if in possession of a bunker and supplies. Fortunately any foolishness felt by their retreat will have been forgiven or perhaps not even noticed by others in the party atmosphere prevailing across the globe. Conspiracy theory abounds, of course, and the whole thing could have been an elaborate confidence trick by the computer industry to exploit the lack of knowledge and an inherent suspicion of the public for their greater financial gain.
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