Re: Y2K

Stephen Williams (steve@icarus.icarus.com)
Tue, 23 Jun 1998 14:31:56 -0700


spudgun@earthlight.co.nz said:
> ask yourself 'is my computer that accurate'
> your computer will lose more than one second a year, so this is
> irrelevant

It is relevant because there are ways of keeping time synchronized in a
wide-area-network well within 1sec., so these clusters of computers must
agree on what a second is, or start fighting over the definition of now.
This might do icky things to the clock synchronization protocols, especially
if definitions of now diverge in the time systems being used.

Being off by .5 seconds probably won't cause mass hysteria, looting and
famine (at least not like Y2K;-) but it is relevant.

-- 
Steve Williams                "The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
steve@icarus.com              But I have promises to keep,
steve@picturel.com            and lines to code before I sleep,
http://www.picturel.com       And lines to code before I sleep."

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