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Tim_Tex
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27 Apr 2009, 10:14 am

When I check my e-mail, I get mail that's obviously spam, dated January 2038.

What's the significance of that year in tech terms?



DentArthurDent
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27 Apr 2009, 10:51 am

Its a new version of Y2k, you know; planes not falling out of the sky, bank accounts working perfectly ok, hospital equipment not failing, survivalists not needing their survival skills, and people living on canned food for 3 years because they have to consume all the supplies that they did not need

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem


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Dussel
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27 Apr 2009, 10:52 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem



ruveyn
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27 Apr 2009, 11:03 am

Dussel wrote:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_2038_problem


We have a good 28 years to replace the current dating systems with double precision arithmetic. I think this will be as much a "problem" as was the much over-hyped Y2K problem

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Vashna
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27 Apr 2009, 11:15 am

I've been experimenting with setting the year to 2038 on my PC clock; I do not seem to have any problems.

The only real problem I remember with Y2K at all was that a nuclear power facility in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan had a false alarm due to the fact that the computer that controlled the alarm system failed. However, there was no real problem with the power station, and the only thing that actually failed was the alarm. All it did was give the workers quite a fright, but they fixed it very quickly.



robo37
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27 Apr 2009, 11:43 am

Poeple are going to be walking on Mars in 2037.



JadedMantis
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27 Apr 2009, 1:02 pm

The concern with the 2038 problem is that it is not so obvious a figure as 2000 was so it is going to attract less attention and therefore there will be less effort to fix the problem. Also, the fact that 2000 went off without a hitch means that many people might not take it seriously enough. At the same time there is no need to get all hyped up over it. There are much bigger threats than that.



Vashna
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27 Apr 2009, 1:35 pm

Are you familiar with Erving Goffman at all?



MommyJones
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27 Apr 2009, 2:47 pm

Aren't we all going to die in 2012 anyway? :help:



DNForrest
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27 Apr 2009, 5:40 pm

MommyJones wrote:
Aren't we all going to die in 2012 anyway? :help:


Nah, only about 90% of us will die off at the end of 2012, the rest'll be taken out five years later when the aliens realize their doomsday machine didn't work right and take us out personally.



sbcmetroguy
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28 Apr 2009, 1:31 pm

MommyJones wrote:
Aren't we all going to die in 2012 anyway? :help:


That's kind of what my post was going to be. I wouldn't worry much about 2038, our civilization won't be here in January of 2013 anyway. ;)



Fuzzy
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28 Apr 2009, 9:24 pm

Its currently a minor problem that will vanish as we move to 64 bit operating systems.


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Orwell
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28 Apr 2009, 10:00 pm

Fuzzy wrote:
Its currently a minor problem that will vanish as we move to 64 bit operating systems.

Anyone still using a 32-bit OS in 2038 deserves to have their system trashed.


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Vashna
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28 Apr 2009, 10:31 pm

Hey, I wish I had a Selectric :P



Dussel
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29 Apr 2009, 2:12 am

Orwell wrote:
Fuzzy wrote:
Its currently a minor problem that will vanish as we move to 64 bit operating systems.

Anyone still using a 32-bit OS in 2038 deserves to have their system trashed.


There are still 8-bit-processors around ...