Summary |
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Hardware
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Apple Computer, Inc. ("Apple") claims that Macintosh hardware is Y2K compliant.
(Check PC add-in cards or PC "emulation" software, if any, for Y2K compliance.) |
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Operating System
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Apple claims that the Mac OS is Y2K compliant.
However, Apple has only tested certain "supported" Mac OS versions for compliance, although we have seen no third-party reports that any recent (System 7.5.5 and higher) versions of the Mac OS have known Y2K issues. (Check other OSes, if any, for Y2K compliance.) |
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Application programs
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Check for Y2K compliance. |
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Data files & data sharing methods
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Check for Y2K compliance. |
1. Hardware |
Apple claims that Macintoshes (and compatible) computers are free from
Y2K problems at the hardware level.
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Apple notes that it did not test "certain" 68000 processor-based Macintosh models. (Various 68000-based models were sold from January 1984 through approximately September 1992.) Apple's Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure: Hardware Products |
The internal lithium or alkaline batteries which maintain the
date and time in Macintosh computers when they are powered off typically
have a lifespan of three to five years. A weak or dead battery can
cause a Macintosh's system date to revert to 1904 or 1956.
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Time to change your Macintosh's battery? (article appearing in the Winter 1998 issue of Berkeley Computing and Communications |
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If a Macintosh has a PC compatibility card or PC emulation software installed, you will need to independently evaluate any Y2K issues which may affect its:
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If a Macintosh is connected to the UC Berkeley campus network
via LocalTalk (e.g. "PhoneNet") cabling, you will need to change
its network connection to Ethernet before the year 2000. In
some cases, this may also require additional hardware or cabling
for the Macintosh itself.
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Campus LocalTalk support to end January 1, 2000 |
2. Operating system |
Apple claims that Macintoshes (and compatible) computers are free from
Y2K problems at the operating system level.
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The current Mac OS Date & Time control panel constrains you to entering dates between 1920 and 2019, inclusive. Apple notes that this problem will be addressed in a future version of the Mac OS. Apple's Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure: Operating Systems Apple and the Year 2000 |
Many personal computer operating systems are set "at the
factory" to display dates with two-digit years,
such as "05/13/29". These dates are century-ambiguous;
they could reasonably be interpreted as falling within
either within the 20th or 21st centuries.
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If you change your operating system's default date format to use four-digit years:
It is desirable that you and your department, as well as others outside your department with whom you share data, standardize on a common date format which uses four-digit years. There are two primary standards you might consider using within your UC Berkeley campus department to represent dates with unambiguous four-digit years: mm/dd/yyyy (a de facto standard in the USA)
or yyyy-mm-dd (an International standard, ISO 8601).
These methods would represent May 13, 2029, respectively, as
as either "05/13/2029" or "2029-05-13".
Nearly all programs should work well with either of these date formats. Nonetheless, there may be a few application programs which cannot properly handle dates entered in one or both of these four-digit-year formats. Standards for Representing Dates |
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If a Macintosh is running an operating system other than the Mac OS, you will need to independently evaluate Y2K issues within the non-Mac OS operating system, including:
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3. Application programs |
Custom-written (or "customized") application programs have been
written "from scratch"
or else extensively modified to perform a customized set of tasks
for a specific customer. Some campus departments are running
such applications, which typically have been created by
departmental programmers or outside consultants. Often, these
programs were built using programming or scripting languages,
database management systems, or client/server tools.
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It appears likely that most commercial off-the-shelf application programs
will work fine in the year 2000. However, some application programs are known to
have Y2K problems or issues, ranging from minor to severe. If some of these
application programs are important to your department or to your own
research or instructional work, you'll need to resolve
their Y2K problems before the year 2000 arrives. To do this, we suggest that you:
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4. Data files & data sharing methods |
Data files, including spreadsheets and database files,
can harbor Y2K problems.
If some of these files are important to your department, or your personal
research or instructional work, you'll need to resolve
their date-related problems before the year 2000 arrives.
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Data shared between application programs
could in some cases present Y2K problems. You can find guidance on
finding and resolving these problems in
Data Sharing Methods: Finding & Resolving Y2K Problems
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