Deadline Y2K

Rating:
Summary: DO NOT BUY (OR READ)! Loaded with mistakes, poor writing
Review: I finished reading this book just to see how bad it could get by the end. Released in September 1999, the author should have known that Y2K was already big news, even with the Everyday Joe. He writes about embedded chips (that have no need for any date or time information) failing and causing massive systems failure. He has nuclear reactors failing or being taken offline. In perhaps the most egregious error, he suggests that the NY subway could fail due to computer error -- when in reality, it is well-known that the display board at Jay Street was never correctly wired, and all switches and signals are mechanically controlled.

The plot is severely lacking. Four geeks rewrite the entire city infrastructure in two years -- and are stuck on some control passwords! A multi-billionaire wants to cheat the bank whose systems his company is rewriting!

This book has no basis in reality. Any similarity to Planet Earth as we know it is coincidental.

Rating:
Summary: Very informative on the Y2K bug, but a little sensational
Review: Since I work in the computer industry and have for the past 15 years, I am well aware of the Y2K bug. For someone who knows nothing about computers, this book is like reading a horror story. Everything that has a computer in it, will have massive problems (at least according to this book). While many of the problems are exaggerated, the Y2K issue is presented in a very enjoyable story. I really enjoyed this book, as long as I took the impending diasasters (planes falling out of the sky, nuclear reactors shutting down, etc.) with a grain of salt. Still a very good, fast paced read.

Rating:
Summary: Very informative on the Y2K bug, but a little sensational
Review: Since I work in the computer industry and have for the past 15 years, I am well aware of the Y2K bug. For someone who knows nothing about computers, this book is like reading a horror story. Everything that has a computer in it, will have massive problems (at least according to this book). While many of the problems are exaggerated, the Y2K issue is presented in a very enjoyable story. I really enjoyed this book, as long as I took the impending diasasters (planes falling out of the sky, nuclear reactors shutting down, etc.) with a grain of salt. Still a very good, fast paced read.

Rating:
Summary: Deadline Y2K: a great thriler novel
Review: The book Deadline Y2K is about what might have happened on January 1st 200. It describes two interesting characters. One is a computer programer who wants to find a solution to the Y2K computer bug, and the other is a successful businessman who's only interest is making an ungodly amount of money. The story is very well written and some of the events described are very realistic. However I think that this book was prompter by some public fears that the Y2K computer glitch would do an extreme amount of damage to peoples lives. Maybe the author could have taken a more realistic approach to the situation. Overall I think it was a good book and it certainly was very interesting to read, it was hard to put down.

Rating:
Summary: Deadline Y2K: a great thriler novel
Review: The book Deadline Y2K is about what might have happened on January 1st 200. It describes two interesting characters. One is a computer programer who wants to find a solution to the Y2K computer bug, and the other is a successful businessman who's only interest is making an ungodly amount of money. The story is very well written and some of the events described are very realistic. However I think that this book was prompter by some public fears that the Y2K computer glitch would do an extreme amount of damage to peoples lives. Maybe the author could have taken a more realistic approach to the situation. Overall I think it was a good book and it certainly was very interesting to read, it was hard to put down.