No magic bullet can fix the y2k bug in all systems. Ok. But after December--let us say--26, there will still be some systems out there with tainted code to launch at compliant systems. Those delinquent systems have to be stopped. The owners didn't care, started too late, did not replace and are now ready to send out tainted code. If we are not sure of the effectiveness of firewalls, sandboxes, packet filtering, then why can't a virus be designed by the government that can discriminate types of digit calculations (in this case two digit year calculations) and shut down such systems so that no tainted code is released? It seems to me we should get pass the computer issue to place personnel, money, resources on finding and replacing date sensitive embedded chips.

-- Anonymous, March 09, 1999

Answers

I belive that this is something that operates a little like what you are talking about...

http://www.bmrsoftware.com/ sol.html

Bob Bemer is considered to be the "Father" of ASCII. I believe that he helped work on the name "COBOL". He is 78. Here is a quote by Bemer:

"Governments acted too late when a single assassination began World War I, and again too late when Hitler began World War II. Their main faults were complacency and disbelief in the danger. Now our lives and our well-being are in danger form our own lack of foresight, for we have allowed the computer to usurp our thought and action processes."

-- Anonymous, March 09, 1999