Vassar Technology Today |Technology history repeats itself in recent news

Matthew Leung Managing Editor

Over the course of the history of modern technology, there were some notable events, organizations, and laws popularized by either their novelty or potential threat. But in the last couple of weeks, news in the technology sector seems to have reflected some of these well-known events in funhouse-mirror style.

History: Y2K. A problem that was identified as early as 1985. It was predicted that older computer programs, if not properly patched, would misrecognize the year 2000 as 1900 and cause critical failures at the turn of the millennium. As it turned out, 2000 came largley without a hitch.

Repeat: Mini-Y2K set to occur in March. During the week of Feb. 12, less than a month before the new daylight savings time was scheduled to take effect, Microsoft scrambled to release critical patches to allow software to recognize the new time change. This year, Daylight Savings Time is happening a month earlier than usual: March 11 instead of April 11. If owners of the large array of Microsoft’s software do not install Microsoft’s patch in time, many personal computers and corporate servers may stay an hour behind until April 11. There have already been complaints that an Exchange Daylight Savings Time patch is causing database servers to crash. Principal consultant of Microsoft Gold Jeff Centimano released a statement that, “This is like a mini-Y2K...with much less potential impact, but also much less time to prepare.”

History: Talking on cell phones made illegal in cars. Since the introduction of cell phones in the mid-1980s, safety concerns over cell phone use while driving have emerged. In 2001, several states began banning cell phone use in cars, including the use of hands-free headsets.

Repeat: Listening to iPods made illegal on the streets. New York State Senator Carl Kruger, citing at least three incidences of pedestrians killed on the road while distracted by electronic devices such as the iPod, introduced legislation on Feb. 7 that would ban the use of all electronic devices while pedestrians are crossing the street. Offenders would be fined $100. Kruger stated that distractions from cell phones and MP3 players are a “public safety crisis.”

History: Cheat codes for video games available online and in books. Since the late 1980s, programmers of video games have inserted secret codes, known as cheat codes, to allow players to take shortcuts in the game. These codes have been shared online and in books.

Repeat: Passwords for Warcraft games available online for $556. It is estimated that it would take 768 hours for a player to reach the highest level in the online game World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. For players who don’t have the time but want access to the highest levels, they now have the option to pay a pro player to do the work for them. A crop of companies, such as Power-levels.com (www.power-levels.com), emerged after eBay announced on Jan. 29, 2007 that it would de-list all auctions of video game accounts sold by veteran players in which buyers receive the seller’s password and pick up where the old player left off at the upper levels of the online games. But considering the number of hours required to get to the upper levels, $556 is well worth it, considering that it would work out to only 72 cents per hour, below the minimum wage for the pro-gamer hired to advance levels for you.

And just like those funhouse mirrors, these unsung events in the technology sphere show an image of just how wobbly society really is thanks to technology. I can only predict that perhaps in the future, there might be a ban on talking to others while crossing the street, or the government cracking down on sweatshops of overworked and underpaid pro-gamers. It only gets better.