[Scott R]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

Everything ive read says it went online Aug 4th..?

In the Terminator storyline, Skynet was originally installed by the military to control the national arsenal on August 4, 1997. On August 29 it gained self-awareness[1], and the panicking operators, realizing the extent of its abilities, tried to pull the plug. Skynet perceived the attempt to deactivate it as an attack and came to the conclusion that all of humanity would attempt to destroy it. To defend itself, it determined that humanity should be exterminated.

Feel something sinister on the Web this afternoon? Fret not –– that's just Skynet, becoming sentient, taking over your computer, and preparing to conquer the world. Confused? According to the mythos of the Terminator series, yesterday, April 19 –– circa 8 p.m. –– was the date when our new cyber overlords first signed online. Which means today, April 20, is when Skynet gets working on that whole subjugating/exterminating the human race thing.

Calling John Connor! Skynet will destroy humanity tomorrow, sorta - CSMonitor.com