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PUBLISHER'S LETTER Publisher & Editor-in-Chief Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD Production Manager Greg Swain, B.Sc.(Hons.) Technical Staff John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.) Robert Flynn Ross Tester Rick Walters Reader Services Ann Jenkinson Advertising Manager Brendon Sheridan Phone (03) 9720 9198 Mobile 0416 009 217 Regular Contributors Brendan Akhurst Rodney Champness Garry Cratt, VK2YBX Julian Edgar, Dip.T.(Sec.), B.Ed Mike Sheriff, B.Sc, VK2YFK Philip Watson, MIREE, VK2ZPW Bob Young SILICON CHIP is published 12 times a year by Silicon Chip Publications Pty Ltd. A.C.N. 003 205 490. All material copyright ©. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. Printing: Macquarie Print, Dubbo, NSW. Distribution: Network Distribution Company. Subscription rates: $59 per year in Australia. For overseas rates, see the subscription page in this issue. Editorial & advertising offices: Unit 8, 101 Darley St, Mona Vale, NSW 2103. Postal address: PO Box 139, Collaroy Beach, NSW 2097. Phone (02) 9979 5644. Fax (02) 9979 6503. ISSN 1030-2662 and maximum * Recommended price only. 2  Silicon Chip Millennium bug could lead to huge legal bills The saga of the Millennium bug, otherwise known as the Y2K phenomenon, continues to develop. For those that have not been awake for the last two years, the Millennium bug refers to the problem of computer code which describes the year by the last two digits, as in “98” for 1998. When 2000 arrives, computer code that still uses this practice will be unable to distinguish between 1900 and 2000 and so the computer will inevitably crash, planes will fall out of the sky, electricity distribution will stop and so on. At least, that’s what the pundits are forecast­ing. At the present time, there is vast rewriting of old pro­grams in government and large organisations like banks and in­surance companies. Small business organisations, on the other hand, seem to be taking a “She’ll be right” attitude. Well, they have had plenty of warning to check all their systems and make sure that everything works when the year clicks over at the end of 1999. Even at SILICON CHIP we have had to bite the bullet and update our accounting software which was not Year-2000 compat­ible. All manufacturing and importing businesses should also ensure that their suppliers won’t be affected by the bug but that could be a tall order where the supplier is overseas. Apparently though, this same Y2K bug can be a problem in equipment which has embedded microprocessors. This applies to all sorts of equipment ranging from medical equipment in hospitals, security and fire protection equipment, manufacturing equipment and even things like chart recorders and some printers. In some situations, this could be really crucial to the functioning of the organisation and could cost a huge amount to rectify if discovered at the last moment. Mind you, it beats me how equipment (and software) with this defect was sold in the first place. Any company or organisa­tion buying plant and equipment expects it to function for many years without any need for major modifications. If it falls over in the year 2000 it occurs to me that many companies supplying this equipment could be liable to very expensive legal action. After all, all goods sold in Australia are supposed to be of “merchantable quality” which is legalese for having no signifi­cant defects. Something that will fail to operate at the end of 1999 clearly does have a defect. Lawyers will have a field day. So if your company or organisation hasn’t checked out its equipment with “embedded microprocessors”, then you had better get them on the job. Even company directors are in the firing line on this one. If you are a director and your company suffers big losses because of a problem with the Y2K bug in its equip­ment, you will be liable to be sued by shareholders. And if you are a supplier of this “defective” equipment, heaven help you. There is any number of legal statutes that lawyers will be able to use - contract law, the Trade Practices Act, negligence - you name it. At the very least, you need to inform all your customers, past and present, that the product they purchased from you or your company will fail to operate after 31st December, 1999. Leo Simpson