-=> Quoting Jean Parrot to Nancy Backus on 01-16-08  09:07 <=-

 NB>> It certainly isn't because I would like it to, because I'm still using
 NB>> pretty much pure DOS.  But, I've been told by my Wizard that in 2108
 NB>> the FAT file system on which DOS is based will cease to function. 

 JP> Maybe you can ask Richard, I do not think that this would be
 JP> like a Y2K bug. It is just, methinks, that the way the new CPUs are
 JP> designed. After all, a programmer has to talk the CPU's language
 JP> although through ML or via an assembler, and the new ones are quite
 JP> different from a design point of view. Strickly above my head.

As it turns out, we're right, it isn't like a Y2K bug... but I didn't
think it had anything really to do with the CPU design.  It's strictly
above my head too... but this is what the Wizard says: 

In the DOS FAT file system, the year is counted using a number that will
roll over to zero 128 years after the year 1980.  This means that the
first second into January 1, 2108, the date reported by any system using
the FAT file system will think the year is 1980 again.  This has nothing
to do with hardware, only with the format of the directory entries in
the FAT file system.  The Y2K was a bug, this is a brick wall.

So far, there are few CPUs that will not run 16 bit programs (DOS), and
even though there will soon be CPU's that will only run 32 and 64 bit
programs, there are virtual machine programs that do run the 16 bit
programs, so one can still use DOS.  And then, there's always FreeDOS...


Me again...  So that's the explanation... :)

ttyl       neb

... AHA!!! I've finally got this ficts, fics, fixd...sigh.

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