Daylight savings time

[Cloud Dancers]

For those of you in the USA that are on daylight savings time, dont forget it is this weekend that we set the clocks back.

Looks like no more launches after work for us.

[xenon]

Are Your Gadgets Ready for the Time Change?

The delayed start of winter hours may--but may not--confuse digital equipment; here's where to update just in case.

Tom Spring, PC World

Wednesday, October 31, 2007 9:00 AM PDT

Daylight-saving time arrives late this year--we gain an hour on November 4. You already know this, but does your electronic gear?

Federal lawmakers voted two years ago to extend daylight-saving time (DST) one week to help conserve energy. Businesses have worked hard to patch their computers so time critical systems like electronic stock trading, billing, and airline schedules work without missing a beat. But for smaller companies and consumers, the time change may not be snag free.

"It's the small stuff that people have to worry about," says Andrea Protas, director of research for eEye Digital Security. "Any small electronics like VCRs, alarm clocks, and wrist watches are susceptible to error."

It's just the flip side of the concerns raised seven months ago when daylight-saving time kicked in earlier, by Congressional action.

Time on Your Side?

The Consumer Electronics Association agrees and says electronics that predate 2005 (when Congress made the change) may experience problems when internal clocks not programmed to recognize DST on the new schedule fail to recognize the time change.

On the other hand, gear that connects to a central system like cell phones, computers, and digital video recording devices such as Tivo, will handle the time change without a problem, says Megan Pollock, spokesperson with CEA.

Despite the promise of a worry-free transition to the new DST, some hiccups have already been reported. Baltimore car owners who parked their car in front of hi-tech parking meters over the weekend were cheated of one hour of parking and some received tickets, according to The Baltimore Sun. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports pre-programmed traffic signals in Pittsburgh jumped the gun causing rush hour traffic jams when traffic lights started blinking yellow an hour early.

Download the Patch

PCs running Windows Vista and XP systems that have received Windows XP Service Pack 2 are safe from DST confusion. Owners of handhelds running the Windows Mobile OS are directed to Microsoft's own DST information center to download a patch.

Palm made updates available to its customers some time ago, but that doesn't mean you downloaded them. Some of the DST vulnerable handhelds are the Treo (700p, 680, 650, 600, 300, and 270) along with various models of the Zire and the Tungsten. Palm is also prompting customers who use devices with the Windows Mobile OS to download a patch as well.

Don't Waste Time

Keeping your PC on correct system time is more important than you might assume.

Accurate time is an important factor to ensure data files and e-mail get the correct time stamps. It is particularly important if you synchronize data files, because time stamps often determine which file is more recent. Incorrect time can also make e-mail look older (or newer) than it actually is, a trick used by many e-mail spammers who deliberately change their system time.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,1...,1/article.html

[xenon]

Daylight Savings Time is ending, time to fall back

By nwhite on Saturday, November 03, 2007

In 2007, Daylight Savings Time started on 11th March 2007, three weeks earlier than normal. Daylight Savings Time is ending this year one week later than usual, on 4th November (tomorrow). Because in 2007 we've had four more weeks of Daylight Savings Time, your PC's date and time may be affected when Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend.

If you are a Windows Vista user and have Automatic Updates configured for Windows Update, you most likely already have the necessary update to ensure your date and time will make the change come the 4th.

However, if you are unsure whether your Windows Vista PC has the update, you can go to the Daylight Savings Time Help and Support Center at Microsoft.com and use the associated wizard to get the necessary update for your PC. If your Windows Vista PC already has the update, when attempting to install the update you will be alerted that it does not apply to your system.

Another way to check to see if your Windows Vista PC has the correct update for this weekend's time change is to click on the clock in the lower right-hand corner of the taskbar. A pop-up will appear with the date and time and an alert about Daylight Savings Time ending on 4th November and that your PC will automatically fall back one hour at 2:00am on that date.

You can click here to see a list of all Microsoft products affected by Daylight Savings Time and the necessary updates needed for these products to properly accept the changes to Daylight Savings Time this year.

http://support.microsoft.com/gp/dst_prodlist

http://www.windowsvistamagazine.com...-fall-back.html

[U.S. Water Rockets1]

For those of you in the USA that are on daylight savings time, dont forget it is this weekend that we set the clocks back.

Looks like no more launches after work for us.

Good news for us this weekend, because we get to set our clocks ahead an hour! This will allow us an extra hour of daylight so that we can increase the testing of our new designs!