Whooo it is a Leap day.

  • @Floofah
    link
    44 months ago

    I was amazed to hear about the pre-pay fuel pumps not working due to the date.

      • @Floofah
        link
        24 months ago

        This event happens every 4 years, so this date change is nothing unusual.

        I remember the millennium bug fiasco, where strict warnings were broadcast that computers may fail on the year 1999 to 2000 date change. Companies were panicking, one of my customers at the time insisted we run tech checks and send a report to them to prove our systems could cope.

        • @[email protected]M
          link
          fedilink
          34 months ago

          Y2K was a real issue, and a one off. I don’t understand how a system that is otherwise functional could break when Feb 29 hit. It’s gotta be either time-related encryption. Or maybe a stupid hard coded value, though I still can’t imagine how that could cause an issue.

          • @Floofah
            link
            24 months ago

            I wonder how the pumps system handles daylight savings?

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              English
              34 months ago

              About 14 years ago I worked for a company that looked after the POS and pump controllers for a few gas companies. They were outdated even then. Many of them still ran on Win 95 or 98 and used coax cables with old BNC connectors to talk to the pump controller.

              I’d hope they’re a bit more up to date now

              • @[email protected]M
                link
                fedilink
                34 months ago

                Well the Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582, so maybe these guys are running an even older version of Windows that predates this change.

                Although the Julian calendar had leap days too so 🤷

            • @[email protected]M
              link
              fedilink
              24 months ago

              By using a standard calendar system the same way it handles any dates and times. All the more reason why it’s so confusing how Feb 29 could screw anything up!

              • @Floofah
                link
                24 months ago

                I’m sure there’s lots of questioning how this happened.