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Aotearoa Daily Kōrero 29/2/2024 (lemmy.world)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/newzealand@lemmy.nz
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Whooo it is a Leap day.

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[–] 4 points 2 years ago (2 children)

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

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Me too! So many questions!

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    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.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I wonder how the pumps system handles daylight savings?

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    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 They were outdated even then.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

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years 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 🤷

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