     ____       _____
    /___/\     /___ /|
   |    \ \   /    | |
   |     \ \ /     | |               ########  ########  #########  ########
   |  |\  \ V  /|  | |              #         #      #  #              #
   |  | \  V  / |  | |             #         #      #  #              #
   |  |  \   /__|  | |  ########  ########  #      #  #######        #
   |  |   \_/___|  | |                  #  #      #  #              #
   |  |     __--|  | |                 #  #      #  #              #
   |  | __--__--|  | |         ########  ########  #              #
   |__|-__--    |__|/
  __-__-                  Try It, Before You Buy It!
-----

********************************************************************************
       ******************************************************************






                          @@    @@  @@@@@@  @@    @@
                          @@    @@ @@@@@@@@ @@   @@
                          @@    @@ @@    @@ @@  @@
                           @@  @@       @@  @@ @@
                           @@  @@      @@   @@@@
                            @@@@      @@    @@@@@  SOLVE
                      =======@@======@@==@@=@@==@@=======
                             @@     @@   @@ @@   @@
                             @@    @@@@@@@@ @@    @@
                             @@    @@@@@@@@ @@     @@






       ******************************************************************
********************************************************************************


Homepage: www.start.at/m2s-soft

Email   : m2s-soft@kagi.com

Mail    : M2S-SOFT
          Roerdompstraat 34
          3362 PL Sliedrecht
          The Netherlands








(C) Copyright 1998, 1999 M2S-SOFT














     LICENSING

     M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  ("THE SOFTWARE")  is  NOT  public  domain.   It  is
     copyright  protected software  distributed as shareware.  THE SOFTWARE
     may  not  be  changed,   modified,   reverse engineered,   decompiled,
     disassembled or  used in another way then  intended by M2S-SOFT.   THE
     SOFTWARE  may  not  be  sold,  rent  or  leased.  THE SOFTWARE may  be
     distributed  as  long  as  it is  the original  unmodified  restricted
     trial-package.  The distributor  has to  have written  permission from 
     M2S-SOFT.

     The restricted  trial-version of   THE SOFTWARE  is free for use for a
     period of 14 days.








     DISCLAIMER

     M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve    ("THE SOFTWARE")    is provided  "AS IS"  without
     warranty of any kind, expressed or implied.  M2S-SOFT  ("THE COMPANY")
     does not warrant that THE SOFTWARE will meet your requirements or that
     the operation of  THE SOFTWARE  will be uninterrupted or error-free or
     that any defects in THE SOFTWARE will be corrected.  THE COMPANY  does
     not  warrant  that   THE SOFTWARE   will  operate  correctly  in those
     situations described in the "known limitations" section of this file.

     THE SOFTWARE  is not designed,  manufactured  or intended  for use  or
     resale  for  online   control  equipment   in  hazardous  environments
     requiring  fail-safe performance,  such as in the operation of nuclear
     facilities, aircraft navigation or aircraft communication systems, air
     traffic control,  direct life support machine,  or weapons systems, in
     which failure of THE SOFTWARE could lead to death, personal injury, or
     severe  physical or environmental damage.  You shall load and use  THE
     SOFTWARE at your own risk and in no event will  THE COMPANY  be liable
     to you for any loss or damage of any kind including loss of profits or
     other consequential loss arising  from your use of or inability to use
     the software  or from errors  or deficiencies in it whether  caused by
     negligence or otherwise.   In no event shall  THE COMPANY's  liability
     exceed the registration fee paid by you for the software.

     To every detail  of THE SOFTWARE,  the license,  the disclaimer or any
     other part  of THE SOFTWARE,  including  the documentation,  online or
     offline, expressed or implied applies the Dutch law.







                               ,+-------------------+
                              +-------------------+ |
                              | TABLE OF CONTENTS | |
                              +-------------------+'



     Chapter 1, Introduction
     -----------------------
     1. Introduction....................................................  4
        1.1 Fact Or Fiction.............................................  4
        1.2 Will I Get In Trouble.......................................  4
        1.3 The Problem Described.......................................  5
        1.4 Hardware, Software And Operating Systems....................  5
            1.4.1 The Way The Hardware Works............................  5
            1.4.2 The Way The Software (Should) Work....................  5
            1.4.3 Windows NT, Unix, Linux, OS/2 Warp 4..................  5
            1.4.4 DOS, Windows 95.......................................  6
            1.4.5 Windows 98............................................  6

     Chapter 2, M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve
     ----------------------------
     2. M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve...............................................  7
        2.1 When Should(n't) I Install M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve................  7
        2.2 M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve Fixes.....................................  7
        2.3 How To Install M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve............................  8
            2.3.1 Installing The Normal Fix.............................  8
            2.3.2 Installing The RTC-Fix................................  8
            2.3.3 Installing The Special Fix............................  9


     Chapter 3, Frequently Asked Questions
     -------------------------------------
     3. Frequently Asked Questions...................................... 10
        3.1 Why do I have to press a key when I start the computer...... 10
        3.2 What's that beep after an hour.............................. 10
        3.3 I've installed M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve, but the tests still fail.. 10
        3.4 I've installed M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve, but the tests won't run... 10
        3.5 I've installed M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve, but the RTC still fail.... 10
        3.6 I'm loading a driver which seem not to respond to your fix.. 11
        3.7 How can I just fix the RTC-date at (re)boot-time............ 11
        3.8 I still can't get M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve to work................. 12
        3.9 How to register............................................. 12

     Appendices
     ----------
     Appendix A, Our Calendar........................................... 13
     Appendix B, The 3rd Millennium..................................... 13
     Appendix C, Millennium(?)-Bug...................................... 13
     Appendix D, For Reasons Of Economy................................. 14


     +-------------------------+
     | Chapter 1, Introduction |
     +-------------------------+

     By now, the media has provided so much information about the next mil-
     lennium and the effect this may have at all different kind of devices,
     that almost everyone  know that there is  a possibility that  some de-
     vices may not work.  In fact many people fear the next millennium just
     because they believe many devices won't operate in the next millennium
     and that as  a result the  world-economy will fail.  In many countries
     (mainly North American and European countries) are organisations foun-
     ded ('Millennium-Platforms') to accompany private persons, foundations
     and companies into the next millennium.


     1.1 Fact Or Fiction
     -------------------
     All  media has  presented lots of  examples which could happen.  These
     examples differ  from rather funny  (your 96-year-old grandmother will
     get a notice for the infant school) to rather serious (atomic reactors
     will fail).

     With some devices you can test it by yourself whether it is year 2000-
     compliant  (such as VCR's,  computers and watches)  with other devices
     you just have to believe the manufacturer.

     Fact is that  even if YOU do owe only year 2000-compliant  devices you
     can be hit by  the problem because someone  else does not.  (E.G. your
     electricity  supplier).  On the  other hand  lots of  stories are just
     fiction. Your computer MIGHT not work well in the next millennium, but
     it won't blow itself up.


     1.2 Will I Get In Trouble
     -------------------------
     This depends on several factors,  like your job and your personal  si-
     tuation,  both in direct and indirect relation with and without compu-
     ters.  A simple rule is:   EVERYWHERE where dates are used indirect or
     direct there MIGHT BE a problem.

     This rule states the complexity of the problem.  Even if you don't use
     dates by yourself someone you  depend on might do so,  and when he got
     a  problem,  you might have a problem to.  This is the reason  why the
     larger companies  and the governments are putting so much money in the
     project and  they demand a statement of their main-suppliers that they
     are 'Year 2000 Compliant'.

     The problem however  is that many companies and  private persons don't
     have the knowledge or enough money to gain the knowledge to test their
     hardware  and software and thus  have to trust  the suppliers and hope
     the best.  However for the computer-BIOS-hardware  M2S-SOFT has made a
     solution: M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve.







                                  == Page 4 ==


     1.3 The Problem Described
     -------------------------
     The Millennium-bugs source is the way dates are saved. It is very nor-
     mal to us to just write down the last 2 digits of the year,  so '1996'
     become  '96'.  When we read it back we just join  '19' in front.  Many
     programmers, for both software and hardware, have implemented this way
     of saving the dates  in their programs. But when they read in the year
     2000, they will  just read the digits '00'  and join '19'  in front of
     these digits, so it will become '1900' in stead of '2000'.


     1.4 Hardware, Software And Operating Systems
     --------------------------------------------
     Whether  your computer is  'Year 2000 Compliant'  depends  on  several
     factors.


     1.4.1 The Way The Hardware Works
     --------------------------------
     Although some PC XT computers do have a 'clockcard', it has not been a
     standard until  IBM included in  their  PC AT computers a little chip,
     the Motorola MC416818. This chip, IBM called it the Real Time Clock or
     for short the RTC,  isn't only capable to keep track of the time,  but
     has the ability to keep some bytes more in memory for other purposes.
     Unfortunately the date  is only useable  for decennia:  after '99'  it
     will  roll back to  '00'.  IBM did actually  offer a byte  to keep the
     century,  but in spite of that,  the RTC is not able  to increase this
     byte by itself. The RTC need some help here from the BIOS-program, the
     operating system or the user.


     1.4.2 The Way The Software (Should) Work
     ----------------------------------------
     Because every BIOS-manufacturer was free to define where in the RTC he
     puts  the bytes  for the time and date,  the BIOS provide some special
     routines for  software which want to know the date  or time.  Software
     shouldn't read the RTC directly. Software which does this will fail to
     read the  correct time or date when it is not saved in  the RTC-format
     IBM originally created.  E.G.  IBM's own PS/2-computers  save the time
     and date  in other bytes.  This shouldn't be a problem  since software
     isn't supposed to read the bytes directly.


     1.4.3 Windows NT, UNIX, Linux, OS/2 Warp 4
     ------------------------------------------
     The operating systems Windows NT (version 4.0 and up), Linux  (version
     2.0.29 and higher), OS/2 Warp 4 (with activated FixPack) don't use the
     century-byte  provided in the RTC.  They work with  an correctioncode.
     With this correctioncode every value below a certain value is supposed
     to be in  the 21st century, otherwise it is supposed to be in the 20th
     century.
     E.G. Everything below  '80'  is in the 21st century.  '69' will become
     '2069', but '96' will become '1996'.






                                  == Page 5 ==


     Lots of Year 2000-fixes work the same way, including M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve
     by default, however M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve provide another 'special' fix as
     as well!


     1.4.4 DOS, Windows 95
     ---------------------
     When you do have one of these operating  systems it depends on several
     factors whether your computer is 'Year 2000 Compliant'.   Some factors
     included are the BIOS and the version of the operating system. To test
     whether  your computer is  'Year 2000 Compliant'  you can use M2S-SOFT
     Y2Ksolve and  correct problems with one of the fixes  included in this
     program.


     1.4.5 Windows 98
     ----------------
     Microsoft has promised to implement the date function as in Windows NT
     Unix, Linux and similar operating systems in the next update.
     However  M2S-SOFT  advise  to  check  the  computer  to be  'Year 2000
     Compliant' with M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve, just as with DOS or Windows 98.






































                                  == Page 6 ==


     +------------------------------+
     | Chapter 2, M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve |
     +------------------------------+

     Once M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve have identified your computer as not-'Year 2000
     Compliant' you can correct this problem with M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve.
     Since the problem will mostly  occur in older systems, with older ope-
     rating systems  M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve is  usable with DOS-versions 3.3 and
     higher,   but  not  limited  to  this  DOS-versions,   Windows 95  and
     Windows 98 are supported as well!

     2.1 When Should(n't) I Install M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve
     ------------------------------------------------
     Of course you  shouldn't install M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve when  your computer
     is  'Year 2000 Compliant',  you don't  agree  with our license  and/or
     agreement, the fact that the Dutch law applies to this software or you
     don't trust our software.
     But  you  also shouldn't use  M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  when you  have a BIOS
     which support upgrades  and  your BIOS-manufacturer  has   an  upgrade
     available, you should use this upgrade instead.

     Furthermore you  shouldn't use M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  in any hazardous en-
     vironments requiring  fail-safe performance since  M2S-SOFT won't take
     any risk.  You use  M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  on your own risk!  However here
     comes the big advantage  of shareware:  You can  first  test  M2S-SOFT
     Y2Ksolve for 14 days!

     On the other hand,  you should (OK, could) use  M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve when
     you are  looking for a complete  valuable solution which  you can test
     first.  However  M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  is not the only  solution it has a
     special kind of fix (read more in the next paragraph) which most BIOS-
     fixes don't provide.


     2.2 M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve Fixes
     ---------------------------
     M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve is provided with 2 fixes.  The normal fix as used in
     most  BIOS-fixes.  This fix work (for the user) in the same way as for
     example Unix.  Each year before a specified (or internally in the pro-
     gram specified)  'threshold-year'  is supposed to be in the  next mil-
     lennium . Unfortunately  this fix won't  work with BIOSses  which will
     fall back to a certain date when  they get an illegal date at start-up
     time. For example when the BIOS get the date  01/01/1900 the BIOS will
     fall back to 01/01/1980.  The problem here is that the year will never
     be before  the threshold year.  To come  around this  problem M2S-SOFT
     Y2Ksolve provide an extra special fix.

     When you are using  the normal fix,  M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  is possible to
     fix the RTC-date when the RTC-layout is the same as  the original  IBM
     RTC-layout. This means  that a very  common  error, the  RTC-date with
     power  on doesn't  rollover from  1999  to  2000, but to  1900, can be
     fixed.






                                                                                                                                                                          == Page 7 ==


     The special  fix is  supplied for  computers which won't fall  back to
     1900 but to a certain date somewhere in the 20th century. Common dates
     are 01/01/1980 or 01/04/1980 or 01/01/1992.
     The special fix doesn't have a threshold year, it will add a number of
     years to  the current  year given by  the BIOS and  then return to the
     user.  When your  BIOS  will fall back  to 01/01/1980 you just have to
     specify you  want to add  20 years and  it will become  01/01/2000. Of
     course it will work the other way around to,  when you set the date to
     01/01/2001 20 years are  subtracted and the  BIOS will set the date to
     01/01/1981.


     2.3 How To Install M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve
     ------------------------------------
     Before installation  M2S-SOFT advise you to print this manual.  To in-
     stall M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve from harddisk copy the files to harddisk.

     Before you can install M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  you have to figure out which
     fix fits you best.  Run the M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve and write down the dates
     shown by the tests which failed.
     
     When one of the dates you wrote down  show another date than a date in
     1900 you should install the special fix as described in section 2.3.3.
     Otherwise you  should install the  normal fix as  described in section
     2.3.1  followed by the RTC-fix as described in section 2.3.2  when one
     of the RTC-tests failed and M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve isn't able to detect the
     right RTC-fix.


     2.3.1 Installing The Normal Fix
     -------------------------------
     Run Y2Ksolve with the /I parameter or press <I> when asked whether you
     want to install the fix or not.

     Press  <N> when  asked which  kind of  fix  to install  and enter  the
     'threshold-year'  when asked  for it. The 'threshold-year' is the year
     to which the current date (as returned by the BIOS)  will be compared.
     When you provide  here 70 all dates ending with the  year 00 up to and
     including 69 will  be returned as it is 2000  upto and including  2069
     all dates ending with 70 - 99 will be returned as 1970 - 1999.

     When you want  don't want to install the RTC-fix you  now should press
     <N> and the installation has been completed,  after you have confirmed
     the  settings and  the computer  has rebooted.  Otherwise  you have to
     press <Y> and continue with section 2.3.2.


     2.3.2 Installing The RTC-Fix
     ----------------------------
     Normally you  should select  here the  autodetect  option (press <D>).
     This option will  check the whether the RTC-layout is  the same as the
     original IBM RTC-layout.  If so it will check the current date and fix
     the RTC-date if  necessary depending on the 'threshold-year' as provi-
     ded  by the  normal fix.  If the  current  date is  still in  the 20th





                                  == Page 8 ==


     century M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  will install  the extended RTC-date,  which
     will fix the RTC-date with power on.

     However  sometimes you  may want another  fix then the  one which will
     come up  with the autodetect option.  When  you will do a  lot of date
     switching between the 20th  century and the 21st century you may press
     <E>  to always  install the extended  RTC-date fix.  On the other hand
     when you are sure the computer will be off with the rollover from 1999
     to 2000 you may want to only fix the  RTC-date after you've powered on
     the computer.  To achieve  this you may  press the <B>.  (Please refer
     also to the chapter 3 for this last option).

     After you have confirmed the settings the computer will reboot and the
     fix has been installed.


     2.3.3 Installing The Special Fix
     --------------------------------
     Run Y2Ksolve with the /I parameter or press <I> when asked whether you
     want to install the fix or not.

     Press  <S> when  asked which  kind of  fix  to install  and enter  the
     'baseyear'  when asked for it.  The 'baseyear' is the first legal year
     for the BIOS which serves as base to number of years  to add to become
     the current year. You have make sure that the 'baseyear' will become a
     leap-year as the  real year become  2000.  Suppose it is  now 1999 and
     your BIOS  will fall  back to 01/04/1980 (the date you wrote down with
     the tests!) then you should set the 'baseyear' to 83.

     *** NOTE: You can't set the baseyear to 80 since the BIOS doens't  ***
     ***       support 01/01/1980 as a legal date.                      ***

     Next you have to provide the number  of years to add to the 'baseyear'
     to become the current year. Normally you can just give <enter> and use
     the suggested year.

     After you have confirmed the settings the computer will reboot and the
     fix has been installed.











                                  == Page 9 ==


     +---------------------------------------+
     | Chapter 3, Frequently Asked Questions |
     +---------------------------------------+

     Here you can find the most  frequently asked questions (FAQ) and their
     answers.

     3.1 Why do I have to press a specified key when I start the computer
     3.2 What is that beep after a hour
     --------------------------------------------------------------------
     This is a limitation of the  EVALUATION-version.  When you have regis-
     tered M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve you will get a version without this limitation.


     3.3 I've installed M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve, but the tests still fail
     --------------------------------------------------------------
     Most  tests do reboot  the computer a few times.  To execute  themself
     again they  start themself  from the AUTOEXEC.BAT, however  some tests
     put themself  in the  first line, this means  they are executed first,
     before any other program is loaded, including M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve.
     You can  still test your  computer with the  M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve,  which 
     will  load the fix prior  to the test when  the fix is installed.  Just
     use the /I parameter to test the computer. The next example suppose the
     M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve is located in C:\Y2Ksolve:

     E.G. C:\Y2Ksolve\Y2Ksolve /I <enter>


     3.4 I've installed M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve, but the tests won't run
     -------------------------------------------------------------
     This seems to be an error in some quickly programmed, free tests.  (We
     do NOT claim free software is erroneous,  a lot of free software is an
     excellent piece of software).
     Please use the built in test of M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve (see also 3.3).
     These  tests  seem  to trap  some  interrupts  which are  used by  the
     M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve, but these tests don't call the old interrupt, which
     they should, so they 'freeze'.


     3.5 I've installed M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve, but the RTC-test still fail
     -----------------------------------------------------------------
     You're probably using the Special Fix.  With the Special Fix you can't
     fix  the RTC.  It is not  possible  to implement  this without  a HUGE
     overhead.
     The BIOS get the date directly from the RTC and  when we would fix it,
     each time you  reboot your computer  it would fall back to  this date.
     Since  software doesn't  get  the date  direct  from the RTC  M2S-SOFT
     choose to not implement it and avoid a HUGE overhead.
     When  you are using  the normal fix,  you may  specify the  RTC-fix to
     autodetect or set to extended fix. Please refer to 2.3.1 and 2.3.2.








                                  == Page 10 ==


     3.6 I'm loading a driver which seem not to respond to your fix
     --------------------------------------------------------------
     It seems like  the drivers are  loaded before the fix  becomes active.
     You can correct this by moving M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve from the AUTOEXEC.BAT
     to the  CONFIG.SYS.  You can do  this by moving  the  line which  load
     M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve  to the CONFIG.SYS, preceded  by 'INSTALL=',  direct
     after  the line  which load the  Y2KClock device-driver.  However  the
     INSTALL-command  is not supported  by all DOS-version,  so maybe  this
     won't  work  with your  configuration.  When  you still  have problems
     please contact M2S-SOFT.

     E.G. Suppose your CONFIG.SYS look like this:
            DEVICE=C:\Y2Ksolve\Y2KCLOCK.SYS
            REM Other device-drivers loaded after here
            ...

          Suppose your AUTOEXEC.BAT look like this:
            C:\Y2Ksolve\Y2KCLOCK.SYS /S16
            REM Other commands executed after here
            ...


          Then your CONFIG.SYS will become:
            DEVICE=C:\Y2Ksolve\Y2KCLOCK.SYS
            INSTALL=C:\Y2Ksolve\Y2KCLOCK.SYS /S16
            REM Other device-drivers loaded after here
            ...
            
          Then your AUTOEXEC.BAT will become:
            REM Other commands executed after here
            ...


     3.7 How can I just fix the RTC-date at (re)boot-time
     ----------------------------------------------------
     To fix this you don't have load the complete M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve. In the
     same directory as  M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve there is a  little file provided:
     RTC-FIX.COM  when  execute  this  file  as  the  first  line  in  your
     AUTOEXEC.BAT  it will just  act as the  RTC-Fix  provided in  M2S-SOFT
     Y2Ksolve with 80 as 'threshold-year'.

     This fix  is provided for FREE.  But since there is no RTC-checking be
     sure your RTC-layout  has the original IBM RTC-layout.  This is almost
     always true. When M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve does NOT return 'RTC-Fix: No' when
     it is installed with 'Normal Fix' and  'Autodetect RTC-Fix' it  should
     be OK to use this FREE fix. To install put the command RTC-FIX in your
     AUTOEXEC.BAT:

     E.G. Your AUTOEXEC.BAT look this
            REM Commands executed after here
            ...

          Then your AUTOEXEC.BAT will become:
            C:\Y2Ksolve\RTC-FIX
            REM Commands executed after here
            ...




                                  == Page 11 ==


     3.8 I still can't get M2S-SOFT Y2Ksolve to work
     -----------------------------------------------
     Please contact M2S-SOFT. We would be happy to help you. See the front-
     page for addresses.

     3.9 How to register
     --------------------
     After an  evaluation-period of  14 days you have  to register M2S-SOFT
     Y2Ksolve. You may do this by internet, fax or phone. For more informa-
     tion  see  the  ORDER.TXT  file  or  the  M2S-SOFT Business Centre  at
     'www.start.at/m2s-soft'.
















































                                  == Page 12 ==


     +------------+
     | Appendices |
     +------------+
     These appendices are provided to give some background information.


     Appendix A, Our Calendar
     ------------------------
     The calendar  we use today is based on the insight of  the Romans that
     the Earth needs roughly 365 days for her trip around the Sun. Even the
     Romans knew it weren't exactly 365 days, so every fourth year they had
     a leap-year to correct this. But the exact time the Earth need for her
     trip is 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46 seconds.  The Romans were
     far enough from the exact time the Earth need for her trip,  that over
     the centuries the calendar days shove away from the seasons.

     In the year  1582  a mathematician  and an  astronomer calculated,  in
     order of  Pope Gregor XIII,  that the  deviation  was almost  10 days.
     Starting with the day of 15 October 1582 until now,  the new rules for
     leap-years became active: Every fourth year is a leap-year,  unless it
     is  the end of  the century (00),  or it has  to be  divisible by  400
     without  remaining a rest,  then it is a leap-year.  Unfortunately not
     all the rules are  known by everyone,  so some programmers have imple-
     mented the leap-years wrong into their programs.

     Not all  countries  immediately adopted  the new  Greogorian Calendar,
     Turkey waited until the year 1927 and Russia even waited until 1940.


     Appendix B, The 3rd Millennium
     ------------------------------
     Although we  always say  we will live  in 2000  in the  3rd millennium
     with the  newest insights we are  already living in the 3rd millennium
     and thus we already should have had Millennium-bug:

     When Christ has been born during the life of King Herodes  (this can be
     read in the New Testament) then  it should be in the year 2000 actually
     be the year 2003 or the year 2004 because King Herodes died a few years
     before the year 1.


     Appendix C, Millennium(?)-bug
     -----------------------------
     The officials may call it the  Millennium-bug,  but it really  isn't a
     Millennium-bug.

     The first reason, it isn't a Millennium-bug, is that the problem isn't
     related  to the change  of the millenniums  but it is  related to  the
     change of  the centuries. The same problem would has occurred when the
     year would have changed from 1899 to 1900.

     The second reason is, that we started counting the years with the year
     1. The first millennium-rollover thus,  was 1000 to 1001. This will be
     the same in 2000.  The real rollover into the third  millennium is the
     rollover from the year 2000 into the year 2001.




                                  == Page 13 ==


     Appendix D, For Reasons Of Economy
     ----------------------------------
     Have you been told that the Millennium-bug is caused by early program-
     mers who had to be very carefull with the memory they used?  Well pro-
     bably it is true,  but it is just as likely as it is  a (bad) habit to
     save the year in a  date with  only two digits.  When they were really
     carefull   about  the  memory-usage  there  would  have   been  better
     solutions.

     Suppose the date: 01/01/1980

     When we  write this down in the notation most programs use  we need 48
     bits:
         01/01/1980 will become 01/01/80 will become 010180.
         When we use for each digit a byte, then wec need 6 * 8 = 48 bits.

     We could have put more years in less bits.
         The day only need 6 bits    (cover 0-31, enough for days)
         The month only need 4 bits  (cover 0-15, enough for months)
         Because in  programmers like to use bytes  (8 bits),  which can be
         manipulated easily, and 4 bits is to  less to put years in we will
         provide  14 bits  for the year  this will cover  the years 0 until
         16.384. In this case we would have used only 6 + 4 + 14 = 24 bits.

     Next we could have done it by using:
         9 bits for the day of the year    (cover 0-511, enough for 365/366
                                           days a year)
         15 bits for the year              (cover 0-32767 years!)
         Again it will need only 9 + 15 = 24 bits.

     Last we  could have started  at 01 January in the year 0 with  '0' and
     increase it each day with 1.

     The last  two have  the disadvantage that it  would require  much more
     mathematical  power to  extract,  for example the month,  so these two
     weren't  really an option,  but with  the other there  would have been
     used half as much bytes.




























                                  == Page 14 ==
