At the third stroke, the Unix time will be 1234567890

At precisely 23:31:30 GMT tonight, Unix time hits a unique milestone. But computer scientists dread the digital apocalypse that is yet to come

Ready to party like it’s 1234567890? Computer lovers certainly are.

That’s because at precisely 23:31:30 GMT tonight (Friday), the ten-digit clock used by Unix computers - which includes the servers that run everything from the internet to air traffic control - will display all ten decimal digits in sequence.

For computer geeks everywhere, this seemingly dubious milestone deserve celebrations just like those that greeted the end of the millennium. Parties are planned around the world from London to New York, to Yerevan in Armenia and Asunci?n in Paraguay.

But after the brief flash of joy, comes the dread. Computer scientists fear the