The Year 2000 problem, or Y2K in the language of computer geeks, has roots in days long gone when computer memories were small and expensive. To save memory, programmers allocated only two digits a year. That, of course, has vast disruptive potential, which, in turn, affects almost every organization and a great many individuals. All depend on computers to get their jobs done, their bills paid, their goods and services bought and sold, their accounting accomplished and their payrolls produced among many other things. No one really knows how badly Y2K will affect local, national and global economies, governments and military forces.
Predictions range from catastrophic to casual.
Congress looked at the situation and decided that something should be done. Thus it enacted IRDA, which President Clinton signed on Oct. 19. Congress couldn't fix hardware and software all over the country. It could, however, provide rules governing what vendors can say about Y2K, programs and machines. Rock bottom, IRDA protects businesses that write and sell software.