The end of computers as we know them is approaching. Experts say that in a few years, operating systems will not be able to process the new dates, causing outrageous paradoxes on PCs .
When the clock strikes 14 minutes and seven seconds after three in the morning on Tuesday, January 19, 2038, a major bug is expected to cause a global outage on the internet and our PCs – or so they say!
Any computer, program, server or gadget running a 32-bit system will crash if the problem has not been fixed by the companies and the devices have not been upgraded in a timely manner.
This is known as the Year 2038 Problem (or Y2038) and is a theory that was recently proven true when Psy's song Gangnam Style surpassed two billion views on YouTube.
Y2038 specifically affects software using a 32-bit integer system. This is a similar problem encountered in the year 2000, when the millennium bug, also known as Y2K, caused some computers to be unable to distinguish between the years 1900 and 2000.
32-bit systems use four digits, meaning they can access 4GB of memory at once. In comparison, a 16-bit system uses two digits, and 64-bit uses eight.
These storage and processing systems use binary digits, represented as 0 or 1 – and the total number of digits that a 32-bit system can represent is 4294967295.
But because half the values are negative and half are positive, they do not range from 0 to 4,294,967,295. Instead, the total numbers range from -2,147,483,648 to 2147483647, making the upper limit of the system 2147483647.
This means that there is limited storage space that can be used to store all the digits 0 and 1.
YouTube is also based on a 32-bit system and when Psy's Gangnam Style video reached and exceeded this ceiling the counter literally crashed.
To solve the problem, Google updated to a 64-bit system, which can handle 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 digits.
The standard four-byte format began on January 1, 1970, at 12:00:00 a.m. So when the clock shows 3:14:07 on Tuesday, January 19, 2038, a total of 2,147,483,647 seconds will have passed since January 1, 1970.
Computers would then be unable to distinguish between the actual time and the date, for the year 1901. This is called an “integer overflow,” and it means that the counter has run out of time and will start writing negative numbers. For some computers, this will simply mean that the date will be displayed incorrectly, but it could also completely destroy programs that rely on the internal clock to make accurate measurements. It could also completely destroy the software.
Many mobile phones, for example, as well as navigation systems and cars that use built-in systems that rely on date and time will have a serious problem.
Specifically, the bug affects the Unix operating system, which is used by Android phones and Apple, as well as most servers on the internet.
Some programs that work with future dates will have problems early on.
For example, a program that looks ahead 20 years will not be able to read dates after January 19, 2038 and may encounter errors.
As economist and journalist Glenn Fleishman explained: “Modern versions of the operating system have solved this problem by moving to 64-bit, but some devices with old software will have a serious problem.”
Affected systems will need to be upgraded to avoid any problems.
Source: iefimerida.gr
