In April or May, the state will conduct a second audit and report by fall on the progress of contingency plans and conduct an overall assessment of the problem in Michigan. Michigan State Police technicians are debugging software to ensure statewide computer systems are working properly. Every state police agency feeds into the LEIN for criminal background checks and other crime updates. It'll be interesting to sit back and watch what happens. State officials are not the only ones struggling with this looming problem.
Experts debate the extent of the problem.
But the possible effects are so sweeping that half the nation's air fleet could be grounded during the first days of 2000 while federal workers upgrade air-routing equipment. Phones might not have a dial tone, pharmacists might not have access to prescriptions, credit cards might not be accepted and the computer at work might not print out paychecks. In most cases, they will work, but it will give you the wrong date, which means such problems as no timer recording for VCRs. You can trick it into functioning by setting its clock back to 1972, when the calendar dates and days of the week fall into the same sequence as the year 2000. If displaying the correct date is critical, such as on fax machines, the noncompliant equipment will need to be replaced.