The year was 2000, and the specter of Y2K was fading fast. We had survived. Things worked after the stroke of midnight. Almost everything worked. We watched carefully as the New Year came in from Australia and headed toward us. Each new celebration confirmed that Y2K issues weren’t going to cause the problems predicted by some.
Did we survive because of all the preparation work, the hiring of folks who knew the older programming languages, or because we really hyped Y2K beyond its dangers? I think I did at least three dozen, “will Y2K affect (fill in the blank) stories leading up to the end of the year. I balked about doing a story on whether Y2K would affect your socks.
Several online services popped up after a Surgeon General’s report said that 1 in 5 Americans had a mental problem. These new sites, including lifescape.com, suggested the Internet would help people open up. There would be support through chat, etc. I guess people have opened up a tad on Facebook.
In 2000, Flat screens were coming down in price (about $4500 for a family room set) and the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was featuring a lot of MP3 music and CD Re-writers.
On the less technical side, a story I did on gasoline prices grabbed my attention. 3/7/2000: AAA says gas prices have risen 24-cents from mid-january to mid-March in 2000. The average cost for a gallon of unleaded regular in the Washington, DC area is ----- (wait for it)
$1.54
More on 2000 later....
No comments:
Post a Comment