Mike Cupo, a systems operator for Public Service Electric and Gas Company, uses a special red phone to talk via radio to PSE&G staffers in the field, during a simulated Y2K drill at company headquarters in Newark, N.J., on April 9, 1999. Power plant operators across the country held drills to make sure they could keep electricity flowing if year 2000 computer glitches prevented them from communicating with each other. Mike Derer/AP
Mike Derer/AP
In December 1999, the world prepared for the impending global meltdown known as Y2K. It all stemmed from a seemingly small software glitch: Many older computer