In my previous column, I painted a pretty grim picture of the Y2k problem. Well, some of them are known, like at corporations and banks.
Programmers can look at the code running on their computers and test it for the bug in most cases.
Their big problem has been there are millions of lines to check and the clock is ticking. For the rest of us who bought electronic devices for our home the scope of the problem is not so apparent. Manufacturers have been placing embedded controllers that perform various timing functions in these products for years. These controllers got so cheap and worked so well that they have been installed in nearly everything. In my coffee maker, for example, I have a digital clock and timer that allows me to prepare a pot of coffee in the evening and set it to brew a warm and delicious cup of bean juice when I wake up.