FYI, I (John) came across this on another listserv.
SNIP
This is what i read about it in a e-mail newsletter i think it says it all:
Alas, this note is mostly wrong--- in fact, Microsoft calls it an outright
hoax. The worst part of the email is that it fails to distinguish between
the way dates are calculated and the way they're displayed. The "date format
picker" above affects only how Windows displays dates and interprets the way
you type in dates. It tells you nothing about the underlying software
calculations or about your PC's date-keeping hardware.
If your PC hardware is Y2K compliant and if you're running a newer version
of Windows and/or have applied the Y2K patches available (for free) from the
Microsoft site, Windows will calculate Y2K dates correctly regardless
whether or not the date is displayed in two- or four-digit format.
On the other hand, if you don't have a Y2K-compliant PC, or if you haven't
applied the Y2K patches, then changing the date-display format is just
rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: Changing the format does nothing
except to give you a false sense of security.
In fact, using four-digit dates won't do you any good at all if the rest of
your version of Windows, or the rest of your software, or your PC itself has
any of about five completely separate Y2K issues. This "set a four-digits
date format and you'll be fine" approach is way too simplistic. It's
totally misleading. It's wrong.
Fortunately, the real Y2K tests, and the real fixes, are ridiculously easy:
To fully address this issue (which has alarmed many of you; and caused
others to have false sense of Y2K security) I've made this the topic of my
Dialog Box column on the WinMag site this week.
There, in more detail than I could fit in this newsletter, I'll give you the
full scoop on the "Date Format" scare, and why it can be perfectly fine to
continue using two-digit dates. I'll show you where to get free fixes and
patches for any Y2K problems your copy of Windows may have, and I'll show
you a simple, free, five-minute do-it-yourself test anyone can do to ensure
that your PC is fully Y2K-safe at every level.
Y2K scares---and bogus emails--- abound. But don't be taken in: Come get the
facts, starting midday (EDT; GMT-4) Monday Aug 9, 1999 via the front page at
http://www.winmag.com .
Source Fred Langa , langalist.
END SNIP
Hope this helps.
JohnL
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