This Tech Stuff podcast looks at the potential for computer crisis in the year 2038. Simply speaking, UNIX systems (and others) count time in seconds. Time began for these systems on January 1, 1970. There is a limit on the number of seconds it can count, the exact number being over 2 billion. On January 19, 2038 any system based on a 32-bit architecture, like this system, will reach this limit and either 2 things will occur: 1) it will roll over to the negative and count backwards from 2 billion-plus, or 2) it will “totally crash.”
This is not really a significant issue because by the year 2038, many anticipate that very few 32-bit systems will remain. The greatest threat lies with anyone using a legacy system or legacy software. Legacy software is characterized informally as old software that is still performing a useful job for the community.
Ultimately, like Y2K, this problem can’t necessarily be categorized as trivial, but it is unlikely to cause any damage or crisis of consequence.
