Modern Day Plague
Argument: Mankind has become too dependent on computers, and we as a society are covering up our errors and not facing the facts, to avoid panic. About four years ago, a new "pop" headline came hot of the press rumoring something about home computers having problems when the year 2000 hit. "The year 2000, that's six years away," people thought. Many believed in six years it would be fixed. Thus, the headline got thrown into the archives along with egg yolks being high in cholesterol and the FBI and the CIA being against each other. Well, today the computer problem has resurrected itself. The downside is that, the second round of "hype," as some have called it, is being looked upon less seriously than before. What is the problem anyway, what's the big deal? Many have asked this question without a definite answer, weakening any bit of concern. Here it is put simply. All computers contain small processors that contain a current date. This processor comes in millions of different types and has been for close to 30 years. These processors are responsible for simple and complex operations and in some cases, for recording data. All of these functions require dates to perform. Well, the problem hits
It seems that other issues are getting all the ratings, while the millennium keeps approaching. Another problem is that most of the population thinks of computers (processors) as sitting on top of desks accompanied with a monitor, keyboard and mouse. With a little over a year, and a majority of the people not clued in, will there be enough time? This will be one of the biggest tests that man has ever challenged, yet we are the creators of our enemy. If there isn't any worry why make more money. Close to 1,000,000 people lost power when a construction crew tripped a breaker 40 miles from the bay area. when one looks at how all processors have been made. The only way to fix it, is by replacing or up dating ALL processors to record four digits for the year. Up until now, there have been only a handful of T. According to the Committee of Government Management, Information and Technology, as of August 1998, less than 10% of companies questioned, had begun looking at these embedded processors for testing. That same month the Fed announced, for the first time, that they will boost the amount of currency in the US by 50 billion (1/3). "Why is that?" Mainly because there is much more on the line. If fear spread that business could collapse worldwide due to Y2K, there might be a preemptive collapse due to a crash of stock markets and banks. Well, if that were the case, it wouldn't be all that hard to fix. However, if something should happen to a few power plants, or even worse one of the grids, up to 200 million people could be without power. Today's culture is tuned to nightly news for all the issues.
Common topics in this essay:
FBI CIA,
Technology August,
North America,
Social Security,
Argument Mankind,
President Clinton,
Y2K IBM,
PC's Mainly,
Francisco Close,
amount currency,
stock markets,
processors contain,
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Acceptance Essays
