Four years on and most of the millennium-proofed PCs drafted in to weather the IT cataclysm-that-never-was are approaching the end of their lives. Worldwide, businesses are set to replace about 220 million PCs by the end of next year – easily surpassing the number of systems replaced in the run-up to Y2K in 1998 and 1999, according to analyst Gartner.
"Our first quarter results suggest the Y2K replacement cycle that vendors have been anticipating for more than a year is under way," says George Shiffler, principal analyst for Gartner's client platforms research.
600 million obsolete machines
The gargantuan volume of replacements in the coming months raises some "intriguing questions and dilemmas… what, for example, will happen to all those replaced PCs?" asks the analyst group.
The impact of this much kit ending up in landfill sites has some environmental groups up in arms. The Fifth Annual Computer Report Card, issued in May by the US environmental organisation Silicon Valley Toxic Coalition (SVTC), claims that the number of obsolete machines in the US could be as a high as 600 million -- containing up to 1.2 billion pounds of lead.
Growing portion of the waste stream
"The health effects of lead on children are well known and just 1/70th of a teaspoon of mercury can contaminate 20 acres of lake," the report claims.
The group also estimates that about 40 percent of the heavy metals in landfills, including lead, mercury and cadmium, comes from discarded electronic devices. "Discarded computer and other consumer electronics (so called e-waste) is the fastest growing portion of our waste stream – growing almost three times faster than our overall municipal waste stream," the report adds.
Talkback
Put it another way - the Y2K legacy will create a bonus for cash-strapped businesses, and home users.
Go to any computer fair and for £50 you can buy Dell and Compaq systems that were originally bought in 1999.
They take cheap memory, are easily upgradable and are capable of running Windows 2000 and supporting most modern applications.
None of them need go on landfill sites.