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NEWS Canadians need not fret about Problem professor BY AMANDA 9yTmgcom One of the best things you can do for yo- it car during the winter is wash it But one Newmarket resident wont be washing his car until Or at least thats what his car wash ticket says Anton purchased a car wash ticket at the Sunoco gas station on Mulock Dr in Newmar ket There was a lineup at the car wash said the software sates engi neer I had nothing to do but drink my coffee and read my ticket Its like telling a joke in Russian If youre Rwsian its funny Someone somewhere forgot the proper number conversion The car wash ticket expires July 2016 The typical expiry date for a Sunoco car wash is six months It worked Its just funny if your a techie he said I have no idea if the ticket will work if 1 show up six years from now At the of the decade a computer tech himself Mr stumbled upon whats known as Problem where the year 2010 isnt recognized by com puter systems and is displayed as Many software systems use the hexadecimal system where num bers are represented by numbers zero through nine and letters A through I Its like telling a joke in Russian If youre Russian its funny Mr Umnikov said Someone some where forgot the proper number conversion Problem 2016 has also affected credit card and debit card uses in Australia and Germany where card terminals think it is the year 2016 and the cards have expired Windows Mobile used in the United States also experienced Problem where text messages were coming from the future You have to be certified to per form surgery or to build a bridge Mr said But to build soft ware you dont have to be certified Someone took the short cut when making the conversion But Canadian shoppers dont have to fret about futuristic credit or debit cards as the problem has not affected MasterCard and Interac in Canada Computer software problems are quite common University computer science professor Graeme Hirst said Its beyond human capabilities to build a Windows system 100 per cent bugfree said Mr Hirst who specializes in computer linguistics The difference between Problem 2016 and the Y2K scare is was bad foresight by programmers in the 1960s while Problem Is just an error Mr Hirst said its like building a house There will be human errors such as chipped paint It can be corrected he said But there is one human error case Mr Hirst lectures on in class where one NASA program used metric and another used imperial which result ed in millions of dollars in damage Another case study used in lectures is when the Tit erected traf fic signals The software signals got crossed resulting in transit chaos the first week This is a subtle hug Mr Hirst said if it was going to be something bigger if it was going to happen it would have happened already Sunoco became aware of the problem in early January anil is roll ing out a series of updates to correct the problem Suncor spokes person Michael Southern said Sunoco will honour tickets dated 2016 Anton is a software engineer so when he noticed the expiry date Sunoco station was not for another six years he wasnt all that surprised r wash receipt at this Are you over age 55 or caring for an aging loved one CHATS can support you in living well Inhome help and care Meals on Wheels programs Transportation Hospitaltohome transition and morel Lifeline Personal Support and Response System Need home medical equipment Visit the CHATS store 105 Harry Walker Pkwy North Newmarket CHATS 9057136596 BRICK Look for our flyer in todays paper At least 1 1n people could still get RIM Half of those in hospital with HI N1 have been under years old Flu season continues until April in 5 people hospitalized with H1N1 have ended up in intensive care andor on ventilators More people have been sick this year from the flu compared to the past 5 flu seasons You call the shot Only you can make the decision to get the HINT flu shot Shots are available at health care provider offices workplace clinics and many other locations Visit Ontario flu Ontario