|
|
We’ve added new team members in order to serve our clients more efficiently. See Quixotic Team Members to read our bios!
As you may have heard, there will be a new start and a new end for Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the United States and Canada starting this year. You will now "spring ahead" an hour at 2am on the second Sunday in March and "fall back" an hour at 2am on the first Sunday in November.
What many may not consider is the technological impact of this change. Essentially, any equipment that you have that makes automatic adjustments for Daylight Savings Time will likely NOT know about this change. This includes your PC. Since Windows 95, PCs have known about Daylight Savings and make the adjustments automatically, either right at 2am or the next time the PC starts afterwards. Left as is, your PC will be an hour behind starting March 11, and again on October 28.
Those that do not utilize the computer’s time for anything may be only marginally affected, but anybody who needs precise time on the PC, including anyone using a calendar or scheduling program, can be greatly affected by this change.
Starting this week, updates are being made widely available by Microsoft, Apple, and other manufacturers addressing the change in Daylight Savings Time. While some of these updates will be automatically downloaded and applied, others may require manual installation. If you are unsure whether your computer has the updates, apply them anyway, as it will either state that you do not need the update or will merely overwrite the previous installation of the update.
NOTE: if you use Outlook or another scheduling program, it’s recommended that you print out your calendar for March 11 – April 1 and October 28 – November 4 BEFORE applying these updates. There is the possibility that start times may still be off after applying the updates, and you can use the printed calendars to make corrections.
If you have any other questions concerning Daylight Savings Time changes and your PCs or other IT systems, please give us a call at (616) 318-3729.
Windows Vista (all versions):
Vista already has the correct DST changes.
Windows XP / Windows Server 2003 (both 32-bit & 64-bit):
The update should arrive via Automatic Updates, so as long as you did not turn Automatic Updates off, your PC will install the update automatically. If you would like to find out how to check your Automatic Updates setting, go here:
http://www.quixoticcomputing.com/aucheck.htm
If you would rather apply the update now, choose the appropriate link to download the update:
Windows XP Home, Professional, and Media Center Editions:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=66F1420C-DF2D-400B-A8A9-EF9061A9A3CA
Windows XP 64-Bit Edition:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6404F3E9-736D-449A-911E-F7CC99A375A4
Windows Server 2003:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=554A94FE-A478-47A7-B004-0277A292E90E
Windows Server 2003 64-Bit Edition:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=53D4F49B-AA6F-48A9-9244-6A1F7DCF2A94
Windows 2000 / Windows ME / Windows 98:
Microsoft no longer provides full support for these operating systems, so they will not be offering updates. However, we have located utilities that should fix the DST information for your PC. You can find them at our site here:
http://www.quixoticomputing.com/dst.htm
Apple Macintosh:
Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later already has the DST change installed. For other versions, you can find update information here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305056
Microsoft Outlook:
Those running Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002 (XP), and Outlook 2003 will also need to run the Outlook Time Zone Update Tool after applying the Windows DST update (Outlook 2007 already has the correct DST changes). This is because appointments and meetings are actually recorded on Greenwich Mean Time, so that as you move between time zones, the appointment start time stays at the same relative time. The Windows DST Update will throw off the appointments in the gap between the old and new DST dates. Running the Outlook Time Zone Update Tool will readjust those appointments back to their original start time. You can find the tool here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e343a233-b9c8-4652-9dd8-ae0f1af62568
NOTE: Make sure you run the Outlook Time Zone Update Tool right away after the appropriate Windows DST update, as any appointments scheduled in those gaps will be off if entered after the Windows update but before the Outlook update. Also, as mentioned earlier, make sure you print out your calendar before applying ANY of these updates… just in case.
Other Scheduling Programs:
Programs like ACT! and Goldmine typically do not take time zones into consideration, so you likely will not have to apply any other update beyond the Windows DST Update. However, you should check with the vendor to make sure an update is not necessary.
Windows Mobile / Pocket PC PDAs and Phones:
PDA devices and cellular phones that include the Windows Mobile 5 or Pocket PC 2003 operating system on them will also need to be updated. You can download the update program here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C1B38B19-20CC-4B4A-90C7-8CB318FDED57
For those users that synchronize their device with Microsoft Outlook, you will need to apply the updates in a particular order to minimize any scheduling issues:
1. Windows DST Update
2. Outlook Time Zone Update Tool
3. Windows Mobile / Pocket PC DST Update
After you apply the update, you will need to change the time zone on your PDA or phone to a different zone than the one you are in, hit OK, and then change it back to yours. This will activate the new DST rules.
You can find out more about the update here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/daylightsaving/default.mspx
Palm Pilots / Treo Phones (with Palm OS):
Palm units as of this writing do not have a DST update available. Older Palm units and some newer ones may be able to have their DST start and end dates manually altered by going into Prefs, and then Date & Time. Check with your vendor to see if an update is necessary.
Blackberry:
Updates for DST are available for Blackberry devices here:
http://www.blackberry.com/DST2007/patch/index2.shtml |
|
|
|
|
