1) certainly, there were real Y2K issues that had to get fixed 2) however, what IT workers in general don't realize, is how many of their systems are broken all

1) certainly, there were real Y2K issues that had to get fixed 2) however, what IT workers in general don't realize, is how many of their systems are broken all the time, in ways that people just learn to live with or work around; this is not all of them, but it does include more than IT folks realize 3) I worked as an engineer in the semiconductor industry at the time, and "it's not Y2K compliant, and cannot be upgraded" was a way to get obsolete equipment replaced, in a way that bypassed normal budget controls. Engineers, salesmen, and managers all engaged in a sort of unspoken conspiracy to get the new equipment purchased. However, this doesn't mean it wasn't a good thing that it happened. Which makes one wonder whether a certain amount of brokenness in accounting and software controls is not necessary for the economy to function 4) countries like Japan, Russia, etc. spent a tiny fraction of the effort in Y2K preparation, and they sailed through. This was in part because of U.S. overhyping it, but also because we were using interconnected computer systems more than other countries were at that time. So, it's a mix. It was real, it was well-handled, but there was also some hype, and even some hype that served a real (covert) good purpose.