I don't understand what the big deal was about Y2K. Why would the world stop just because the computers would...I mean we existed all of these years without computers. It would make life more difficult certainly, but it wouldn't entirely end life as we know it.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=y2k+concerns+fears

Computers were pretty much set to have the year as 19?? and many people didn't trust the the shift from 1999 to 2000 would go smoothly. Huge amounts of money are transfered by means of computers, and if the computers stopped working because they couldn't read the dates correctly, no one knew what would happen.

It was more the fear of the unknown than anything else.

So much of our world depended upon computers in 2000 that if they had failed, businesses would have lost millions (billions?) of dollars retrieving lost data.

The Y2K (Year 2000) problem, also known as the Millennium Bug, was a significant concern leading up to the year 2000. It originated from a programming flaw in earlier computer systems that represented dates using only the last two digits of the year. For example, '99' for 1999 and '00' for 2000. This shorthand method of representing dates was used to save memory and storage space.

The issue arose because in these older systems, the year 2000 was not properly accounted for. When the new millennium began, there was uncertainty about how computer systems would interpret dates starting with '00.' There were fears that this oversight would cause computer malfunctions, software errors, and disruptions to various vital systems that rely heavily on accurate date calculations, such as banking, utilities, transportation, and telecommunications.

To understand the concern, it's important to note that computers play a crucial role in modern infrastructure, and they are extensively used in controlling and managing various processes. If these systems encountered errors due to incorrect date interpretation, it could have led to disruptions ranging from minor inconveniences to potentially more significant issues.

To prevent catastrophic consequences, extensive efforts were made to update computer software and systems before the start of the new millennium. Programmers and IT professionals worked diligently to identify and fix potential Y2K bugs in computer code. This involved updating software, rewriting code, and conducting thorough testing to ensure that systems would accurately handle dates beyond 1999.

The Y2K problem was solved with great success and was not as catastrophic as initially feared due to the massive global effort to address the issue. However, it is crucial to understand that the potential risks were not entirely unfounded. While it is true that humans existed for thousands of years prior to computers, our modern society now heavily relies on computer systems to function efficiently. Disruptions to critical systems could have had far-reaching consequences, hence the significant attention given to resolving the Y2K problem.

In conclusion, the Y2K problem was not about "ending life as we know it," but rather about mitigating the potential risks associated with computer systems misinterpreting dates. The comprehensive efforts to fix the issue ensured that the transition to the new millennium happened smoothly, avoiding major disruptions to our daily lives.