Kaiser spends $23 million to fix ‘millennium bug’
Kaiser spends $23 million to fix millennium bug’
In perhaps the best illustration yet that the "millennium bug" is more than a minor pest, Kaiser Permanente is spending $23.1 million to get rid of it.
The Oakland, CA-based health care giant recently entered into a consulting agreement with Data Dimensions in Bellevue, WA, to fix the problem. The millennium bug is a software problem built into most computers, including any equipment that is run by an internal computer, in which the system recognizes only the last two digits of a four-digit year. In 1997, for instance, the computer recognizes only the "97." That will work fine until 2000, when the computer will recognize only the "00." Since the computer has been programmed to assume that the first two digits are always "19," it may accept the date as 1900.
What it will do with that date is uncertain. Some computers may function normally but use the 1900 date instead of 2000, which will throw off billing and other systems. Other computers may just be confused into a state of helplessness. Either way, computer experts predict that the problem can be catastrophic for businesses if left uncorrected.
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