| Show How the Y2K bug started: the real story By Deborah 3 Rav and Erie J Rav A common misconception about Y2K ii that the problem began because programmers needed to save computing resources which were very expensive and not as widely available as they are today The fact is though that the Y2K problem did not start in an effort to conserve computing resources instead it started because of a combination of human factors: the desire for humans to be able to read data formats directly the choice to represent dales as text (not numeric values) and the tendency of humans to truncate dates to a two-dig- it format More than 30 years ago computers were mainly used in scientific and engineering fields to calculate raw data In this use the data were just numeric values that could translate into the binary format (the ultimate format computers use to store data) in one step For example the date 1965 was interpreted as “one thousand nine hundred sixty five” and could be directly stored as 11110101101 the corresponding binary representation Computer use soon grew though to include other leu techie fields As part of this evolution programmers decided that dates were text not numeric values So rather than considering 1965 to be a single numeric value it now consisted of four arhanumeric characters: in this case 1 9 6 and 5 What’s significant about the trend formats is that they are toward text-basfar less efficient to process and actually store For example rather than translating a single value (“one thousand nine hundred sixty five”) to the final binary format the computer has to translate four separate values Also rather than storing a single value the computer has to store four separate formats ernes So although die text-basare easier for humans to read it requires for more processing and storage than numeric values did Later as programming evolved even more human preferences began to affect how dates were stored In particular years were often truncated to just die final two digits (‘65 rather than 1965) with the century — the context— being implicit This format change did save substantial storage space — that is the final storage was reduced from four values to two (This aspect is probably what led to the popular myth that the Y2K problem started in an effort to conserve storage space) The motivation for the change though was not to conserve space instead die motivation was to accommodate human preferences The two-dig- it format required fewer keystrokes reduced redundancy (typing “19” for each date entered) and allowed programmers to enter dates as they think of diem (as in “back in ’65") So the Y2K problem started not from a need to conserve computing resources but from a desire to accommodate human computing factors Although programmers could have accommodated the human factors and still stored dates as complete and efficient numeric values they opted not to do so It was human preferences and the resulting accommodations that caused the problem we face today ed ed Do you have a question tor he Raya? They canl guarantee to answer but sand I In Lattan vA bo answered In Me column whenever poaabie Letters may be adHad Sand Man to Raya On Computing cfo The Herald Journal PO Box to column 487 Logan UT B4321 or Deborah & Ray and Eric J Ray aw owners of RayComm Inc a technical oommunl-cation- s consulting firm that spedabea In praett-cappScatloneot leading Internet and computing technologies They hava coauthorad a variety ot computer books Including several of lor Dummies series from IDQ Booke tha Worldwide that toous on making technology easy to understand and use AdrSttonaSy they era coadNore of the Technology Reviews department of Technical Communication m al one baby would she and Albert M Wilhfnm? i h!rnrhrr Rosa Johnson hofde a photo of herself and twin eietar Mary Annette Tha two Navajo girls were mistakenly put up for mnn nn and raised In Cache Vafey by a Hyrum couple Johnson mat hor birth mother at tha age of 33 white emit! tha I amanita" passengers Than be content with tinkering with the names of the at embassy parties and inaugural balls In Washthey were in S room advancing towards two twins Mary MargarpLbecarae Mary Annette snd cribs The view from one crib has been preserved ington DC a speaker and earthquake survivor in Susan Rose became the rhyming Rose Wyvette California a secretary in Salt Lake City and a by its tiny occupant Susan Rose True there was a heart attack which temporarisoon-to-b- e 30th reunion celebrant at Sky View “I remember exactly when my adopted mom stair she So woke been She's and her mother came to take us up I remember half her life away from Cache Vally stopped Willy's climbing Rose and Annette with a whistle one shriek for tiie smell and remember my mom coming toward ley but just last week dropping down from the Annette two for Rose Willy had her Wellsvilles and cruising across the green me and her mother right behind her I remember Mom coming over and pulling me up and grandways one of which was to leave winvalley she said to herself “Home" dows open so brother it was cold up This was once her realm After all ma coming over and picking Annette up I there she and Annette were dairy princessremember going out of the house riding on die The twins flushed toilets and bus seeing die land” es There was no question as to who rattled closet doors all to keep in the house was queen “We not “You just went right to my heart” Willy told alwavs agreed with Mom's thinkRose Willy at bay and buy a little time under the covers On the way back with the twins Willy and her riding wrote Rose “Very outspoBut eventually they had to mother frit whiter than ever first on the bus in ken” she said of her mother uncover and come down Then it But without Willy's strength Arizona with Navajos then on the bus in Utah was 45 minutes on the piano for where would they be? with whites Rose 45 minutes on the type“Mrs Johnson6 said the doctor Willy had been a mother 14 years to Gordon writer for Annette after which But she had seen her two other infants die and “you should have left these children on the reservation: they’ll never be knew she would not give birth again Did that they'd switch Practice would be followed by readings from Willy mean she couldn't have more children? Apostle healthy and I doubt if the little one scripture and Shakespeare Finally (Rose) will walk” Spencer W Kimball for one thought not and it wasi off to school South Cache and then Would you expect Willy to wring her pointed her towards the Navajos If there was a hands? You might as well expect her to stop Sky View and in the evenings it was more piano question it was her age 48 sewing and take up smoking What she did was Willy was getting older but would never be okl and more typewriter with tape hiding the letters on the keys take the girls for walks down to the ducks to the The woman was a whirlwind much like Rose is lambs the calves Down to see even the ants “Very structured” Rose recalls Now she hertoday Why when she was picking up Rose and self is the same very structured as one must be if who as Annette noticed another girl in the room Would one is gang to be an author a fashion designer in that girl care to come along be adopted as we!17 New York an FBI undercover agent and a regular See ROSE on Page 15 The quick answer was no and so willy had to bus in Aedrootlfodro 7 remember going out of the house ing on the bus seeing the land May means Mother’s Day and gardening By Beth Harpaz Associated Press writer May means Mother's Day Thke stock of family count blessings and eat brunch in restaurants crowded with corsaged grandmas and squalling babies Mother’s Day means gardening By now all danger of frost has passed and outdoor work can begin Thke stock of the yard count surviving plants and visit greenhouses where recks of pansies and petunias beckon Hug the children and transfer tender seedlings nurtured inside to newly weeded plots outside Call mother and hope perennials ordered from catalogs haven’t turned brown in the mail Put on lipstick and a skirt for the family then trade those for blackened gloves and jeans to hunt slugs Relinquish control of kitchen and laundry mid prey that the clematis will flower Just like on New Year’s pledge this season will be different You will not scream about homework and unmade beds you will fertilize hydrangea pick aphids off roses and trim the coleus You will be firm abend curfews and junk food you will not fill every empty space with impatiens just because they are guaranteed to flower through September "Garden dreams do come true" reads die pitch inside a catalog its cover a wild mass of zinnias primroses daisies Maybe crane August your yard trill look like that: maybe not But when you tiptoe into the lads’ room and survey kicked covers tangled hair and dreaming faces you know that mothers’ dreams come true Thursday Religion: Getting centered i I lT Take hard look at day care Q: How cm Ifind quality child can? ' Answer by: Diana Coyl PhD candidate Utah State University Family and Human There are several important factors parents should consider when looking for a suitable childcare provider Experts recommend: Early childhood cation training of all staff A licensed child-car- e program Parents' participation (some cooperative day care programs have parents volunteer one day a week to help provide care and increase parents’ awareness of the day care environment and their child’s experiences there) ratio High When infant and toddler care is required parents should talk with staff about infant to staff-tochil- d provider ratios (The younger the child the smaller the ratio between adults and children should be For example one adult for three infants is considered reasonable) Other questions or concerns to resolve: How well are children’s basic needs met? Do staff members understand child develop mental stages and behavior? How often are diapers changed? Are the children fed enough? Are healthy and snacks provided? What sort of activities or daily agendas are provided? Can the provider respond to special needs of a family? children Are there programs for school-ag- e to attend before and after school? Are there child care centers that provide care in the evenings weekends or when a child is sick? What arrangements are available if children need to be picked up after school or from home? Don’t be afraid to ask staff members direct questions about the quality and variety of services they provide Child care obtained outside of the immediate family can coat up to $10000 a year per child These costs represent a substantial investment for parents and any investment worth making is wrath doing a little research about beforehand especially when it involves the care of children Dksct column topic questions to: Dome Falrantxxg Utah Stats UnWeraMy Extension 4800 Old Main HH Logan UT 84322-400- 0 fax Phone amat donnalOextueuedu Features: rrn': 752-212- 1 |
