System declares April 1 ‘Y2K Awareness Day’
The University of Wisconsin System wants state university employees to arm themselves with the facts about potential millenium bug problems during today’s “Y2K Awareness Day.”
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UW System Y2K web site |
According to UW System Vice President Marcia Bromberg, who is steering Y2K efforts, state universities will be in compliance and will not face problems with payroll, student registration or other critical records. But individuals and offices should make sure their own workplaces are ready.
A central source for information is the UW System web site at: http://www.uwsa.edu/ois/y2k/y2kstuff/index.htm. It contains links to the Y2K web sites of each system campus, links to other state and national resources, and updates on compliance efforts so far.
The site will detail steps for people who work with hazardous materials, with research or farm animals, or have concerns about embedded computer chips.
The “Y2K Bug” is a programming glitch caused by years that are represented with two rather than four numbers (81, rather than 1981). When calendars turn 2000, some computers may not recognize the new year.