The easiest and most likely solution to the user gap is a TV-computer combination. As the new millennium approaches there are fears that computer systems will crash because they are not programmed to recognize the zeros in the year 2000. Millions have been spent to prevent a breakdown. Despite assurances that the YK2 bug will not hit, computer experts, emergency services and the military will be on standby worldwide on New Year's Eve. Even without YK2, computers have their menaces, including invasions of privacy and heightened industrial espionage.
Computer viruses are another peril.
Just like their human counterparts, they can be passed from machine to machine like a disease and are difficult to kill. The damage caused by hackers and viruses can run into millions of dollars and complicated security systems are incorporated into computers to try and keep them out. Computers have also killed more jobs than their industry has created, say labour experts. Computer jobs also demand higher qualifications and skills, a fact being drummed constantly into today's young. In some cases, says Williams, whole countries lag behind in computer technology.