Millennium test
exposes date fault in
Windows 98
David Parsley
PURCHASERS of Microsoft's new Windows 98
personal computer operating system could face
havoc as a result of a bug that causes it to
malfunction when the year changes. It is unrelated
to the millennium bug although software designed
to spot millennium-bug problems first exposed the
problem.
Microsoft has been aware of the date-related
problem since the launch of Windows 98 in June.
It has failed to notify purchasers of the product,
which replaces Windows 95, but it is now moving
to tackle the issue and has teamed up with Prove
It 2000, a British software house.
Richard Coppel, chief executive of Prove It 2000,
confirmed that the problem was not related to the
millennium bug. He said: "There is is an anomaly
with Windows 98 that affects the date on the
system. We have tested the program by setting the
date at just 30 seconds before December 31. The
year does not matter, which is why it is not a
millennium problem. It can be any year in any
century. When the clocks tick past midnight into
the next year we have found the program either
leaps two days forward or one day back."
Such a problem could cause computers to perform
tasks at incorrect times. This would have
potentially damaging consequences in financial
institutions, which programme transactions such as
money transfers months in advance.
While Microsoft's British subsidiary confirmed
that a date problem with Windows 98 did exist, its
American parent would not comment. It is not the
first problem the group has had with the package
but unless it is remedied, it could be the most
damaging.
Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, is involved in a
legal battle with the American government as a
result of the Windows 98 launch. It has accused
him of trying to crush rivals and monopolise
access to the Internet by incorporating a web
browser in the package.
-- Mark Jones http://www.geocities.com/~comparty