Readers' corner
Y2K at bay
Sir-- Re 'Buzzwords 2000-2010' (24-30 December, Al-Ahram Weekly ) you are quite misinformed about Y2K. It was a non-event because of the tens of thousands of hours spent fixing old main-frame and mid-frame computer software to recognise a four-digit date. Many companies and government systems were still running on those systems in the 1990s into 2000. Without all the hard work, yes the computers would have stopped. I was in the business and know this as a fact. I'm not saying Y2K wasn't over hyped, but it is a fact that much of government and corporate America was running on those old legacy systems that would have stopped. We knew this was the case because it was a simple test to reset the clock on the OS to a few minutes before 2000 and just see what happened.
David Waters
New Jersey
USA
Protected by Russia
Sir-- Re 'Starwars stops START' (7-13 January, Al-Ahram Weekly ) I appreciate your insight on the clash of civilisations, and I believe that unfortunately at present Muslim countries lack the ability to effectively stand up to the West. With the resurgence of Russia, I believe that Muslim countries will be protected by her strategic nuclear stockpile and the fierce determination of Vladimir Putin.
Muhammad Alimi
Damascus
Syria
Pointed irony
Sir-- The irony of 'A pointed insult' (3-9 December, Al-Ahram Weekly ) is hilarious. Egypt has severely restricted the building of churches and even their repair for centuries, yet Egyptians go crazy over the Swiss ban of minarets!
Roger McKinney
Oklahoma
USA
Recommend
Comment
Printer-friendly
