32 votes

Nobody ever gets credit for fixing problems that never happened

9 comments

  1. [4]
    vord
    Link
    The most relevant exaple from that era: The Y2K bug. The reason it was no big deal when Jan 1, 2000 rolled around was because there was several years of strenuous preventative work done across...

    The most relevant exaple from that era: The Y2K bug.

    The reason it was no big deal when Jan 1, 2000 rolled around was because there was several years of strenuous preventative work done across almost every sector using computers.

    If that preventative work had not been done, it well could have been a crisis.

    15 votes
    1. [3]
      Greg
      Link Parent
      On that basis I’m thinking 2038 ought to be… interesting, given how much more everything now depends on software and how much less marketable/understandable a 32 bit rollover is. Although...

      On that basis I’m thinking 2038 ought to be… interesting, given how much more everything now depends on software and how much less marketable/understandable a 32 bit rollover is. Although Wikipedia has just taught me the rather excellent term “epochalypse” when I went to grab the link, so maybe hope for an awareness campaign isn’t lost yet!

      6 votes
      1. [2]
        vord
        Link Parent
        There's actually been a fair bit of work done on 2038 already. Having a much longer timeframe to implement has definitely eased the urgency and difficulty a bit.

        There's actually been a fair bit of work done on 2038 already. Having a much longer timeframe to implement has definitely eased the urgency and difficulty a bit.

        3 votes
        1. Toric
          Link Parent
          yup, every 64 bit OS is already prepared, and on newer linux kernels, even 32 bit machines are good. big issue is embedded devices that no longer get updates or whos companies cant be bothered to...

          yup, every 64 bit OS is already prepared, and on newer linux kernels, even 32 bit machines are good. big issue is embedded devices that no longer get updates or whos companies cant be bothered to do the work to upgrade the kernel. Some RTOSs might also not be prepared.

          8 votes
  2. [5]
    Sodliddesu
    Link
    I have lots of discussions around this topic and I think I'm going to forward this to a few sympathetic ears... But this is an early 2000s paper. Even with evidence that's existed for so long, how...

    I have lots of discussions around this topic and I think I'm going to forward this to a few sympathetic ears...

    But this is an early 2000s paper. Even with evidence that's existed for so long, how do you go about utilizing a paper like this for enacting some kind of institutional changes?

    Other than, of course, working your way high enough in an organization to force a change obviously.

    4 votes
    1. [4]
      vord
      Link Parent
      People still rely on Newton's laws of motion for many use cases, do they not? Just because a work is old, does not mean the premise is invalidated.

      People still rely on Newton's laws of motion for many use cases, do they not?

      Just because a work is old, does not mean the premise is invalidated.

      1 vote
      1. [3]
        Sodliddesu
        Link Parent
        Quite the opposite! I'm not saying "it's old, who cares" I'm more saying "This is written on the wall, how do I get people to notice?"

        Quite the opposite! I'm not saying "it's old, who cares" I'm more saying "This is written on the wall, how do I get people to notice?"

        3 votes
        1. roo1ster
          Link Parent
          all you have to do is educate people sufficiently to overcome decades of cultural indoctrination and human nature :(

          all you have to do is educate people sufficiently to overcome decades of cultural indoctrination and human nature

          :(

          1 vote
        2. MimicSquid
          Link Parent
          Never let a crisis go to waste. If something goes really wrong in the organization, use it as a launching point for other modernization efforts to stop similar things from happening in other...

          Never let a crisis go to waste. If something goes really wrong in the organization, use it as a launching point for other modernization efforts to stop similar things from happening in other areas. You're never going to catch everything, so use the disasters that do arise as object lessons to support your attempts to keep things maintained.

          1 vote