Tag: Medium

The Year 2000 problem, known as Y2K, is a bug in calendar data storage where years are represented by the last two digits instead of the full four. Diligent work by many companies limited the impact, but the anticipation of the bug led to a cultural tone of uncertainty and careful preparation.

As the public embraced the Web and e-commerce, web-based business expectations boomed. Nearly every possible business transaction moved to the Web to fulfill anticipated user needs. Many believed this to be the new Gold Rush and bought in big. Demand did not rise to meet expectations and within one year, technology stocks lost about 60% of their value.

After the National Science Foundation (NSF) changes its policy, the Internet is for the first time a publicly accessible network with no commercial restrictions. Four years later the NSF will turn over the Internet’s backbone (main high speed lines and nodes) completely to private industry.