Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 15:32:49 -0700
From: Bodo Bauer <bb@suse.com>
To: suse-announce-e@suse.com
Subject: [S.u.S.E. Announce] S.u.S.E. Linux and the Year 2000 Problem


S.u.S.E. Linux and the Year 2000 Problem

S.u.S.E. will keep you informed on Y2K issues on an ongoing basis as we
approach the new millenium.  The following statement is an update to the
Y2K announcement that appeared on our web site earlier this summer.

Technical Information - August 1998

System Programs

The kernel and core tools of Linux and other Unix-like operating systems
do not store dates in a two-digit format.  Time is counted in number of 
seconds since January 1, 1970.  A 32-bit system such as x86 Linux should
thus have no date problems through the year 2038.

The few Linux applications that stored years in two-digit decimal formats
were changed a long time ago.  S.u.S.E. Linux systems since version
5.2 have tested successfully with system dates after the year 2000.
Starting with version 5.2, S.u.S.E. Linux also contains workarounds for
some known problems with older BIOS versions.

The "time_t" variable in the kernel must be changed from 32 to 64 bits
before the year 2038.  After a new compilation, Linux should be prepared
for another 292 billion years.

Application Programs

S.u.S.E. Linux is distributed with over 800 software packages, most
of which have not been developed by S.u.S.E.  This reality makes   
it impossible for us to test every piece of software we distribute 
intensively for all possible problems.

However, the most important and most often-used programs are programmed
without Y2K errors and have been tested by us.  We cannot make this
claim for every software package.  The following programs, which are
only available to us in binary format, have known problems with the
transition from December 31, 1999 to January 1, 2000:

    abuse (an arcade game) 
    beg (work environment for mocka, a module compiler)
    mapledmo (demo for maple) 
    mocka (module compiler)   
    simcity (game) 
    vse (Visual Slick Edit, a demo for commercial text processing)
    wingz (a demo of an Excel clone)

Guarantees

No Sweeping Guarantees for the S.u.S.E. Linux Distribution

We will continue to provide our customers with the newest information on
the topic of the Year 2000 problem.  However, we will not make any binding
promises about the ability of all programs to run after the year 2000, due
to the unique nature of the problem and of our product as free software.  

Although we will not give any guarantees nor assume liability, we do
not expect any problems.  As much as possible, our support team will
work to solve difficulties as they arise and provide solutions to you
without charge.

Guarantees for the Fundamental Functionality of Systems We Install and
Support by Contract

We are prepared to guarantee that the central services will run on all
systems installed or to be installed by us by contract.  This includes
all important server functions, e.g. NFS server, DNS, Samba, ISDN dialup
faxserver (Hylafax), Sendmail, News (INN), print server, proxy server,  
firewall, WWW-Proxy (Squid), ISDN/Modem Dialin, YP/Nis server, Apache,  
Apache-SSL including PHP/FI, and Novell (mars nwe).

-- 
Bodo Bauer            S.u.S.E., Inc                  fon +1-510-835 7873 
bb@suse.com           458 Santa Clara Avenue         fax +1-510-835 7875
http://www.suse.com   Oakland CA, 94610  USA
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