Fears of Y2K meltdown failed to materialise as banks, businesses and governments across the globe reported no significant computer glitches in the first hours of the New Year. There could still be problems ahead, however, with experts warning that just 10 per cent of the potential bug-related problems will occur in the two weeks around New Year's Day.
No problems have been reported in this country, with key areas such as electricity, gas, water and financial services operating smoothly. For businesses, however, there are anxious days ahead as most companies do not return to work until tomorrow.
Russian and US military officials working side by side at a joint command centre at Colorado Springs in the US to monitor nuclear missiles said they had found no problems.
Worldwide there were some glitches. Eight US utilities had problems with clocks. Some Japanese nuclear power plants' data monitoring systems malfunctioned and France's military satellite system was affected.
The relatively bug-free New Year has raised questions about whether the estimated $600 billion cost of precautions against Y2K was necessary. Governments and computer analysts have defended the spending and warned that the bug still lurks in systems and could yet cripple networks and disrupt ordinary life.
Unless dealt with, it will act like a debilitating disease which insidiously weakens computer systems before finally toppling them, Gartner Group analyst Andy Kyte said. The Gartner Group, a US research company, said that fewer than 10 per cent of all Y2K-related failures would occur in the first weeks of the New Year.
Failures that have been attributed to Y2K include France's Syracuse II military satellite system, which was affected without causing any operational difficulties, the defence ministry said. The bug struck the automatic fault detection programs at ground stations linked by the satellite system.
The US said that a glitch had stopped the processing of data from a satellite spying operation for about three hours until back-up procedures came into effect. The problem had been entirely on the ground and the satellites themselves remained under full control, according to a US government spokesman.
Early on New Year's Day the US Naval Observatory's website declared it was now the year "19100". However it did not affect the Naval Observatory Clock, which has been used as the official keeper of time in the US since 1845.
Japan began the new millennium with no signs of major Y2K problems, but minor glitches, including some at nuclear power plants, marred its report card. Three equipment malfunctions were reported at nuclear plants after the New Year began but the problems had no effect on power generation.
Russia's Soviet-era nuclear power stations operated flawlessly as the date change swept across the 11 time zones of the world's largest country, officials said. "No, we have no problems whatsoever. Everything is fine," said a spokesman at the Atomic Energy Ministry crisis centre in Moscow. Reactors scattered across the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe also appeared to be running safely despite earlier fears. In Ukraine, Chernobyl entered the New Year without problems.
The global aviation industry passed the test when air traffic control clocks worldwide struck midnight GMT, ushering in the year 2000 without a single reported Y2K-related problem. The Middle East did not register problems attributed to the bug.
Financial markets around the globe reported that their electronic trading systems had not succumbed either. Major exchanges were closed on Saturday, although stock markets in Oman and Bangladesh reported smooth operations on the first trading day of the New Year.
In Sweden three hospitals reported problems with heart monitoring equipment, while in Germany a salesman became a millionaire on paper when a malfunctioning bank computer inflated his bank account to more than $6.2 million. Whether the mistake was caused by the millennium bug or was an unrelated problem was not immediately clear.
Irish e-business on the up: A Deloitte & Touche survey of Irish chief executives reveals that e-business is likely to become a mainstream activity for many Irish companies in 2000. Ninety-five per cent of chief executives surveyed said that their businesses use email, while 86 per cent claim to have websites. Only 47 per cent, however, have an e-business strategy and almost two-thirds spend less than 10 per cent of their IT budgets on e-business projects. Info: www.deloitte.ie
Esat opens access: Esat Telecom's open access division is to provide web public access units beginning this month. The service is coin-operated and will also accept payment with Esat Access cards in the near future. Esat has already done deals with 100 locations to host the units, including the Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin, the Eddie Rockets chain and Easons bookshops.
Going going gone: Bidding for the Internet domain name www.year2000.com closed on eBay early yesterday at $10 million, a record if the sale goes through. The domain name was used by Peter de Jager, a Canadian computer consultant who was among the first to sound the Y2K alarm. In an announcement to subscribers, de Jager said the name has served its purpose well and "can undoubtedly be put to better use" in 2000.
Maddox as a hatter: In an effort to prove how wired the world has become, 26-year-old Mitch Maddox walked into an empty Dallas house on New Year's Day where he will stay until 2001. He plans to live exclusively online, ordering food, furniture and clothes over the Net and hosting a 24-hour live video feed of his life. "Our vision is that new online shoppers will go to our site to learn how to utilise e-commerce," said Maddox, who has legally changed his name to DotComGuy and set up a company, DotComGuy Incorporated for the stunt. Info: www.dotcomguy.com
In brief... Intel has introduced Pentium III processors at 800 MHz and 750 MHz, the highest speeds so far for the desktop. . . Esat Telecom has acquired Ireland's largest networking company Kedington Group for an upfront payment of £9 million and a performance earn-out of £6 million over three years. . .