It was a combination of both. I still remember my dad coming home from a talk that he considered the "best yet" on the Y2K issue. The speaker warned that traff

It was a combination of both. I still remember my dad coming home from a talk that he considered the "best yet" on the Y2K issue. The speaker warned that traffic lights would stop working. Maybe someone more techno-literate than me can explain why that would be a genuine concern, but from my perspective at the time it seemed like the guy was making money from fear mongering.