January 1999, Vol. 10, No. 1
A bug’s life
Newspapers confront Year 2000 -- is internal preparation enough?
In the Disney/Pixar film, A Bug’s Life, the ant colony is threatened by a marauding troop of grasshoppers. In real life -- as opposed to reel life -- the computing industry is threatened by just one little bug: Y2K.
Shorthand for the Year 2000, Y2K is rooted in programs from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s that rely upon only two digits to record the year (99 for 1999, for example). Designed to save ever-critical space -- early computers had between eight and 32 kilobytes of internal memory, roughly the amount of digital space this very essay occupies -- the two-digit year representation assumes that the year after 1999 is 1900.
This problem could wreak havoc across a variety of computing platforms and systems. There are two schools of thought out there today about Y2K.
The optimists believe that the guardians of computing throughout the world will nail down Y2K in all the important systems and that only minor problems will occur come Jan. 1.
The pessimists believe that throughout the world of computing there are just too many references to the year as two digits, and therefore the apocalypse will transpire shortly after 11:59 p.m., Dec. 31.
Reality, of course, will be somewhere in the middle; we're hoping it will lean toward the optimistic side.
Inside, Senior Editor Pete Wetmore takes us to a half-dozen papers around the country to see how they have responded to the Y2K challenge.
That Wetmore’s report does provide cause for optimism comes about because of an interesting set of circumstances:
When a publisher was confronted by a techie in the early ’90s saying that some portion of the pre-press system needed replacing, the pat question always was, "Can we hold it together with baling wire and chewing gum one more year?"
When the answer inevitably came back, "Yes," the publisher would say, "Then let’s wait until next year to buy a new system."
In about 1997, the techies had a better answer: "Yes, but it will crash in the Year 2000, so let’s buy a new system now." After reaching for that little extra folding money in their pockets, publishers have reluctantly upgraded their computer systems.
But not all industries have been as responsive to Y2K issues as newspapers -- power utilities, for example. Today’s electrical power grid is interdependent upon a variety of suppliers -- some large, many small. Will all of them have quashed all their Y2K bugs?
If not, one small power provider could knock out the entire grid. Get those gas and diesel generators primed and ready to go, folks.
The real problems probably will occur in what are called embedded chips. Those are microprocessors that reside in everyday items, such as elevators, microwave ovens, fax machines and audio/video equipment.
If the Y2K bug lurks in one of those devices, you may well be stuck taking the stairs, cooking by gas, using the postal service and/or giving up music and TV.
Also inside, contributor Jay Small (general manager of the web site of the Indianapolis Star and News) outlines the various ways a newspaper can be integrated to an on-line operation. He has prepared an extensive chart that details the reasons a publisher might put his or her web site directly in the newsroom -- or put it into a building miles away.
Next, Correspondent Marion J. Love gives us a primer on how to buy a new system. Love talks with editors and technical people to determine the criteria they are using these days to purchase new pre-press systems.
Lastly, Correspondent L. Carol Christopher takes us to Virginia Commonwealth University where academics and professionals are building the newsroom of the future. The 21st Century News Center is dealing with the kinds of issues -- not only about new technologies, but also about career advancement -- that are usually ignored by this industry.
If computing professionals have their way, the next big blockbuster you see at the mall cinema may not be A Bug’s Life. It may be A Bug’s Death.
-- David M. Cole
From THE COLE PAPERS, January 1999, Copyright © 1999, All Rights Reserved.