There is a chance that numerous large and small websites will soon stop working with Firefox and Chrome. The problem is reminiscent of Y2K but this time has nothing to do with a date, but everything to do with the browsers’ version number.
Mozilla is warning of compatibility problems with both its own Firefox browser and Google Chrome. Firefox is sitting at version 97 today, while Chrome has already reached version 98. For the two browsers, version 100 is no longer far off. When the version number consists of three digits, major Web sites will no longer correctly identify the browsers and consequently no longer function optimally.
User-Agent
The problem logs at the User-Agent, according to Mozilla. That’s a string that browsers send over the HTTP protocol so servers can determine which browser a visitor is using. Then a Web site can present itself appropriately. There is not really a standard for Web developers to work with the User-Agent, so they implement their own techniques. These do not always feature three-digit version numbers. That causes bugs.
This is not the first time Web developers have faced this problem. Twelve years ago, browsers evolved to version 10 and higher. That brought problems to light then that were fixed. Currently, browser specialists are already running experiments. Several major Web sites such as Yahoo.com and Daimler.de in Germany are already reporting bugs.
Mozilla is working with Web sites experiencing a problem to find solutions. If enough bugs appear, Mozilla will temporarily freeze its version number at 99 while a broader fix is sought. A similar plan exists for Chrome.
Y2K
Currently, it is up to Web developers to anticipate version 100 and check the compatibility of their Web sites. The problem is reminiscent of Y2K. When moving to the new millennium 22 years ago, it was feared that software would drop out because of the new date format. Programmers frequently used the last two digits of the year, which would become “00” again in the year 2000. As we know, the world did not end then. Presumably we will collectively stay alive this time too, although some preparation to avoid minor problems is not unwise.