‘Millennium Bug’ Costs Soar, Study Finds

The cost of dealing with the “millennium bug” in Europe and the United States has jumped 20% in the last six months and some organizations may not finish their work in time, a study found. The comprehensive survey by European computer consultants Cap Gemini found the total estimated cost of dealing with the problem had risen to $858 billion from the $719 billion that was predicted in April. So far, $494 billion of this has been spent, with $238 billion invested in the last six months alone. Cap Gemini said it calculated that the major countries were roughly halfway through fixing the problem, caused by the inability of some computer systems to recognize the date change from 1999 to 2000.