http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=47130

MIT preps for Y2K

Friday, 17 December 1999 13:03 (GMT)

(UPI Focus)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 17 (UPI) - The Massachusetts Institute of Technology isn't in a panic over any Y2K problems, but isn't taking any chances, either.

MIT officials are recommending that all of the school's non-essential computers be shut off no later than Dec. 30, a day before the date changes from 12/31/99 to 1/1/00.

That's because Jan. 1 arrives in New Zealand as early as 7 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Dec. 31, and any computer problems there could spread across the planet's computer networks, The Boston Globe said Friday.

The concern is that some computers and microchips might shut down or malfunction by reading "00" as 1900 rather than 2000.

MIT has some 20,000 computers and servers.

Gerald Isaacson, MIT's Y2K expert, told the Globe, "If you don't need the machine on and you shut it down, you have that much more time to deal with any issues that come up."

MIT, as a precaution, is also advising professors and students to back up research data no later than Dec. 30, rather than wait for the automatic storage scheduled for the last day of each month.

And in case of any Y2K power failures or civil disasters, MIT has equipped all of its residence halls with cots and blankets, even though most of MIT's 9,900 students are expected to be on vacation when the clocks change over to the new year.

Gary Beach, publisher of CIO magazine, said, "I think it's a smart piece of pragmatic advice that MIT is giving its community." Besides, Beach added, "Why would anybody want to be sitting at their computer on New Year's Eve unless they absolutely had to?" -- Copyright 1999 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

-- Uncle Bob (UNCLB0B@AOL.COM), December 17, 1999

Answers

Uh oh.

Thanks much. Need to contact Phil Greenspun.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 17, 1999.

Gee Diane, I asked so politely earlier this morning ...

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), December 17, 1999.

Brooks,

When I first login in the morning, coffee in hand, I start at the top post and work my way down the line (can't possibly read every thread).

I found your request "after" this one.

;-D

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 17, 1999.

Good news.

Whew!... fast response... and terse as usual.

Subject: Re: Will the Greenspun/MIT servers be up over the New Years weekend?
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 1999 12:33:45 -0500
From: Philip Greenspun philg@mit.edu

I have no plans to turn off any computers. I was unaware of any MIT- wide shutdown.

Philip

[Sorry for HTML goof]

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 17, 1999.

Sorry, Diane, the non-html-compatible grin I inserted after my message was deleted. And thanks to Uncle Bob for posting the actual article.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), December 17, 1999.

Diane:

In my experience, Phil's messages are always terse but they usually contain some information! MIT is not alone. This stuff will be shut down all over the country. Then it will come back up again. We've never done that before. I wonder what the consequences will be. Should work, but then what do I know.

Best wishes,,,

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 17, 1999.

Also in chatting with an MIT alumni, Ed Yourdon, he said MIT has their own power generation capibility (independent of Boston, I assume).

"Interesting" n'est-ce pas?

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), December 17, 1999.

Diane:

Most major Universities do.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 17, 1999.

Diane,

Phil's reply is even more terse than usual...it doesn't include his suggestion that you "read the book!" :-P

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), December 17, 1999.

Yes, but how many have their own nuclear reactors in the middle of a major metropolitan area?

-- unclear (unclear@nuclear.mit), December 17, 1999.

Unclear:

We do [biggest in the country] and we aren't MIT.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), December 17, 1999.

1) It's good to know that the servers will be up over rollover...

2) It's also interesting to note the extensive precautions taken by a highly knowledgable University. If they are concerned, with their level of preparations and knowledge, we should also be concerned. (Many of us are...)

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), December 17, 1999.

"The concern is that some computers and microchips might shut down or malfunction by reading "00" as 1900 rather than 2000."

-- the Virginian (1@1.com), December 17, 1999.