Fresh dates are giving computers indigestion [faults and failures]

As the second millennium draws to a close, huge numbers of computer programs will begin belching and hiccupping because they cannot properly process dates beyond Dec. 31, 1999. The years from 2000 on start over at 00, and unless something is done, these dates will appear to precede the 1900s—or so it will seem to the many programs that use only a year's last two digits for dates.