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Bitten by the Bug Bona Fide Y2K Glitches of the New Year W E B L I N K S  Y2KMistakes.com
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By Jonathan Dube ABCNEWS.com Jan. 8 — Y2K came and went without major social unrest, widespread computer breakdowns or nuclear weapons launches. But that’s not to say there were no glitches at all. Here is a sampling of some of the snafus wrought by the millennium bug. Can You Take a Check? The Y2K bug hit a video store customer with a $91,250 late fee when he returned The General’s Daughter. A computer at the Super Video rental store in Colonie, N.Y., calculated the tape as being 100 years late. Must have been a really good movie to keep it that long.
A Century Behind Bars. Court officials in Naples, Italy, found that prisoners looking forward to release next Monday had, according to computer records, been detained 100 years too long and should have been released on Jan. 10, 1900. Others whose sentences were due to have ended in December 1999 could look forward to another century behind bars, while those awaiting hearings also had an extra 100 years to wait. Anybody know a good lawyer?
Born an Old Man. In South Korea, about 900 families in apartments in Pyongchon, just south of Seoul, went without heat for several hours Saturday when a central heating system malfunctioned. In the nearby city of Ansan, a hospital said Sunday that its computer recorded a newborn’s birthday as Jan. 1, 1900. The child apparently was very mature for a newborn.
DOD Losses. For two hours on New Year’s Eve, the United States lost all information from spy satellites that take pictures over places like the Middle East and Russia. The data was beamed back to Earth, officials say, but because computers couldn’t translate the information, it was lost forever. Now we’ll never know what the Russians did to celebrate the new millennium. Darn!
Game Over. Game maker Nintendo’s official Pokémon Web site displayed the date Jan.2, 3900. Ash suspects the snafu is part of a plot hatched by Team Rocket and summons Pikachu. Problem solved.
Correction, Please. The New York Times published an Associated Press story about Wal-Mart expanding its Web site but misdated it Jan. 1, 1900. Wal-Mart always was ahead of the Times.
Monopoly Meltdown. Microsoft’s Internet Explorer software displayed the year as 3900 on some Web pages when it read outdated programming language commands embedded in some sites. Microsoft also experienced a “minor” glitch in its Hotmail e-mail program that caused an error in some message dates. And even Microsoft’s own Web sites weren’t perfect: dating errors cropped up on its New Zealand and Finland sites. Rumor has it that Microsoft is no longer content with monopolizing the PC industry and now seeks to control time itself.
Netscape of the Future. Netscape Netherlands, United Kingdom, Brazil and South America sites all thought it was Jan. 1, 19100. On the Netscape’s Latin America Web site, the date read “Sabado, 1 de enero, 19100.” Como desconcierta!
An Aged Degree. Korea University sent out graduation certificates dated Jan. 13, 1900, according to The Wall Street Journal. We would like to extend our belated congratulations to the new, er, old, graduates!
Inflationary Effects. London’s Independent reported that a man in Germany logged onto his bank account on his personal computer to find that he had the equivalent of $6,826,253.67 extra in his account — but the transaction date was 30 December 1899. Now what’s the interest on that?
Do You Still Trust E-Trade? E-trade’s site offered new customers a year-end bonus of $100. The only catch: users would have to wait 18,100 years for the check. The site was dated Jan. 1, 20100. That’s a long time to wait for $100.
Laptop of the Future. Apple’s iBook page was dated 20100 — making the slick computer truly the laptop of the future.
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