Daylight Savings Time Update

[Chaos]

Received this in a Kim Kommando e-mail this morning and thought I'd share it with those here as it mentions some implications of the change in the date when Daylight Savings Time goes into effect that I hadn't considered--

Ignore if you're already aware--C
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Coping with daylight-saving time

Q: I've heard that there is going to be a big problem when we switch to daylight-saving time this year. Since it is happening earlier, computers aren’t going to be able to handle the change. Will this affect computers everywhere? And what about our home computers? I’m worried.

A: This is a bit reminiscent of the Y2K crisis. But don’t start hoarding water and canned goods! Most people have nothing to worry about.
This year, daylight-saving time will begin three weeks earlier on March 11. It will also end a week later. This is enough to confuse most people.
But it has the potential to create troubles with your computer. Computers automatically adjust their clock to daylight-saving time. However, the date that daylight-saving time kicks in is programmed into the software.
Daylight-saving time was changed due to the 2005 Energy Policy Act. So your computer could have the incorrect date to switch.

This is inconvenient. But you could probably work around it. However, Microsoft has already pushed out a patch for Windows XP. So if you have XP, and it’s updated, you’re OK. If you haven’t updated XP lately, now is a good time.

I know I have some listeners who use Windows Vista and Office 2007 (http://www.komando.com/buyguide/index.aspx?id=2512) . The change was built in to both. So you don’t have to worry about it. Most software uses the Windows clock, so your software should be fine, too. But if you’re uncertain, check with manufacturers for a patch.

The Microsoft patch requires Windows XP Service Pack 2. If you’re still on Service Pack 1, you’re out of luck. You should upgrade to Service Pack 2.

Businesses could be hit hard by the switch. They often have custom systems that will need to be updated. But that is unlikely to have serious impacts on individuals.

Now, there are a couple of things you should consider. For three weeks after March 11, you’ll want to be careful when making appointments via Outlook. Even though your calendar is correct, the other party’s might not be. Call to confirm if in doubt.

Other gadgets around the house may also have problems. You’re probably used to changing the dates manually. But if they update automatically for daylight-saving time, contact the manufacturer. There may be patches to fix them.

You should also pay attention to the calendar on your phone, handheld or smartphone. These will likely need patches. Check your manufacturer’s support site.

To find out if you need to update Windows or your Windows phone, visit the Microsoft’s site (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst).

[Theo!]

Windows has an update for the daylight savings change. If your automatic updates are turned off, you can run the Windows Update application manually from your Start menu.

[Chaos]

Windows has an update for the daylight savings change. If your automatic updates are turned off, you can run the Windows Update application manually from your Start menu.


That's true, but as the message said, the update only applies on PCs which have been updated to Windows XP with SP2 first--

And we also need to be sure that our other devices, such as home phone systems, cell phones and PDAs, are appropriately prepared for the change and the Windows patch won't help with those--C

[Bluefish]

Chaos, have you seen/read about the group that is doing its best to get people to stop using the Comic Sans font? It's a riot--bumper stickers, T-shirts, the whole enchilada.

My techie son recently aimed me at the website and shamed me out of using CS. First he made me stop using "girlie" blue; then Comic Sans. I may write him out of the will. Harrumph.

[Mark..]

Yesterday, I attended a MS Vista/Office 2007 release event. A presenter was telling what a problem this was and saying he was going to be at some big conference this Thursday with Bill Gates – discussing the ramifications and how to address the problem.

A woman in the audience asked, “What’s the worst that can happen if users don’t have a fix?”

“The time will be off an hour.”

“But it will be right again in three weeks?”

“Uh, yes. I guess that kind of minimizes my address with Bill Gates, doesn’t it?”

LOL – Thought that was pretty funny. BTW – I won a copy of Office 2007 Ultimate as a door prize. Woohoo!
================================================== =====

Was talking to my cousin, who’s in IT, today. He’s been hired to supervise the change-over for a company where time/date issues are critical. He says it’s really no big deal, that everything should go pretty smoothly for them BUT they’ve hired him for 30 hours @ $150/hr to make sure. He’ll be working from the comfort of home.

[CheroCreek]

Unfortunately Windows does not have an update for our congress who do not seem to understand that regardless how one sets the clock that there are the same number of heat-loaf hours in a day. I would like to see any credible study that indicates that DST saves any appreciable energy at all.

[moogg]

You ain't gonna take my comic sans away from me...

BTW, I hate the time change, forward and back...just decide on one and stick to it. blah makes me depressed in winter and feeling like I have to be outside till 9pm doing "something" in summer time. :eek:

[poolman]

In regarding the time, what does GMT stand for?

[moogg]

Greenwich mean time?

[poolman]

The time listed after GMT matches EST perfectly.

[SO713]

Okay, I am just using this thread to vent about the new format. Finally, logged in after many trials.

Now, how do I start a new thread? I have not even tried other new changes yet. Thanks.[

[SO713]

[QUOTE=SO713;797]Okay, I am just using this thread to vent about the new format. Finally, logged in after many trials.

Now, how do I start a new thread? I have not even tried other new changes yet. Thanks:confused: :rolleyes: :mad:

[poolman]

Just takes time SO713, have patience. There's a lot of new tricks that will take time to learn. :)

[moogg]

SO, you better listen to Pool, him being a real "member" now and all..while some of us are just lowly jr. members...:rolleyes: :D

To do most of the faces, you have to go into advanced reply verus quick reply.

[2ndWind]

Moog: "BTW, I hate the time change, forward and back...just decide on one and stick to it. blah..." I agree! Doesn't Arizona stay on the same time all year? Why can't the rest of us do the same?

[CheroCreek]

I'll bet it is listed as GMT - 5 Correct?

EST is 5 hours behind GMT. In other words, when the sun rises over London it will be 5 hours till it rises over New York.

The whole DST scam is just that for me - a scam. I believe it should be discontinued. If there is ANY evidence that DST saves any energy then we should change the hour we rise and start business and not set the clocks forward and back. Noon should coincide with the sun being at its zenith in the sky for the day.

[2ndWind]

Didn't the Nixon administration extend the daylight hours later in an effort to save energy? And from what I'm recalling, it didn't work because people had to use more energy in the morning since it was darker for a longer period of time.

[CheroCreek]

It is our congress 2nd guessing the Creator of this universe. I guess they are pissed at not being able to form a study group to make a recommendation to a comity that would advise the Creator.

:)

[OnSolidPath]

I must be the only one that loves daylight savings time? Got up this morning it was light out by 6:30, makes me feel good that on Sunday this part of the world will think it's 7:30 and will operate as such.

I would think it could save some energy, less lights on --there was enough light coming through the sky lites that I didn't have to turn on the hallway lights, and it's still overcast/raining out.

[Tiddly]

I have to do something to our Directtv. mercy....

[SeptMorn]

I don't understand what the rationale was for moving up the date for daylight savings?

[CheroCreek]

The congress seems to think it will add an extra month of energy savings.

[magic-cat]

I don't know about anyone else here, but my computer updated it's time change perfectly, and I never had to add a patch or anything at all.

[poolman]

I had no idea today was the change but my cell phone and computers knew.:confused:

[Unique Handle]

Fortunately for all, I've solved the DST computing conundrum.

For the next three weeks, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) will be advanced by one hour, thereby implementing a global Daylight Savings Time during which there will be no need for North American clocks to be advanced by even a single minute. By manually changing a single clock rather than manually resetting or reprogramming several trillion devices with embedded clocks, my solution will save over 400 megawatts of energy. I would urge you all to contact your local Congressman and have him/her get this plan adopted by this Wednesday at noon.

Or 1 p.m., depending on your watch.

[magic-cat]

Fortunately for all, I've solved the DST computing conundrum.

For the next three weeks, Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) will be advanced by one hour, thereby implementing a global Daylight Savings Time during which there will be no need for North American clocks to be advanced by even a single minute. By manually changing a single clock rather than manually resetting or reprogramming several trillion devices with embedded clocks, my solution will save over 400 megawatts of energy. I would urge you all to contact your local Congressman and have him/her get this plan adopted by this Wednesday at noon.

Or 1 p.m., depending on your watch.

You fancy-schmancy Canadians and your clocky metric system. You're really the ones behind all this, aren't you? *harumph*

^..^

Hey, by the way, does this mean you guys had to change too?

[Unique Handle]

We moved up DST by three weeks this year in accordance with the Canadian "Sucking Up to Superpowers Adjacent to You" Act of 1964.

It's also the reason we got an NBA team.

[magic-cat]

I fantasize about Canada finally rising up in maple leaf unison some day and telling Bush he's out of a job.

Maybe this whole DST thing isn't the last straw camel's back to draw a line in the sand, but it's got to happen.

Be strong, non-violent and educated neighbors to our north! The day of the revolution is coming, and we're depending on you to make a stand for us!

[2ndWind]

Well, we have our extra hour of daylight in the evening now. But wow, it was hard to get up this morning. (And even though it's 6:15 a.m. here right now, it's PITCH BLACK outside. The cat's crying to go outside but the coyotes are still roaming....). I always forget how much this "spring ahead" business takes to get used to.

All you people in Arizona, I envy you!:)

[Tiddly]

Why do I have a red mark?

[OneMoreTry]

I agree 2ndWind - getting up this morning was very difficult! But, I do love that it is lighter so much later in the evening. The mornings are rough, though, until we adjust and we start seeing some light in the morning! :o

[2ndWind]

Don't forget to move your clocks back at midnight this Saturday, November 3. We finally get that extra hour back!

[Booktender]

Somebody remind me on Sunday that the rest of you are back on my time. Sure makes it easier to call my mom back east before she's asleep!

[Bluefish]

Mexico moved back to standard time on the old schedule. Made for much confusion in places like ours where there is a lot of border commerce.

Also, lots of hard-wired timepieces changed to standard time on schedule.

[PoignéeUnique]

In Canada's rich tradition of both honouring our heritage and sucking up to our big southern neighbour, we moved all of our clocks back 1/2 hour last Sunday. This Sunday, we'll move them back another 1/2 hour. This way, no matter how wonky your watch or software is, you're no more than 30 minutes off the official time.

[Tiddly]

what is wrong with using COMIC SANS???????? I use it all the time.

[Bluefish]

I used to use Comic Sans until son #1 pointed out that its name betrays its use: it was intended to fill comic book balloons, and so to a lot of people it connotes a lack of seriousness, a non-business-like demeanor.

That sounds like a stretch to me, but that must have gotten around because I see Comic sans a whole lot less now than I used to.

[Bluefish]

I hate shorter days. Only 49 days now until the shortest day of the year. But I hate that day too because that's when the countdown begins to the longest day of the year (summer solstice) when the days start getting shorter again.

That glass is NEVER full. Arrrgh.

[Booktender]

The glass is just too wide, blue. Too wide.

[Tiddly]

well, I only use the Comic Sans or whatever it is for personal stuff. I surely wouldn't type a letter at work with it!

[CheroCreek]

I'm for eliminating DST altogether. The supposed energy savings is a fraud at best. According to the local power plant - the shift in time by one hour does nothing to reduced the heat load demands and peak usage rates at all.

[2ndWind]

I'm for eliminating DST altogether. The supposed energy savings is a fraud at best.

I heard the same thing on the news the other day when some electric company executive was being interviewed. They said that Arizona lobbied to remain on one set time through out the year (apparently these decisions are made on the state level). DMV reports state that there are more auto accidents during the week following the spring change because of the effect of the loss of one hour of sleep.

[Booktender]

Down here they said no because an extra hour of daylight would be counterproductive to surviving the summer.

[poolman]

Well I like a fool got up at 5:00 am and thought my puter was bonkers. :)

[lexicon]

what time is it? I'm going back to bed

[moogg]

I like comic sans myself.... guess it makes me immature. :D LOL

P. S I prefer it spring ahead...I was up at crack of dawn with kiddo..guess I should not have stayed up so late thinking that it was all cool, because we got an extra hour. I am already TIRED!!!!!!!!!! :rolleyes::

[Phoebe]

Daylight savings..mmmuhhhhaaaaaa... its a joke, right? I got one extra hour? When, where, how? Do you know or remember what it's like to have children sick with ear infection (tube is working but still!!), or to have a kid that wakes you up so you can make family breakfast, and while your doing so, your body clock tells you to do this and that? Bam Bam's ear infection is a bit better but he was up all saturday night crying so I rocked him to sleep most of the time.

I am so tired now, I could go to sleep.... uh we saved an hour?? when, where, and how?

[2ndWind]

Remember to "spring ahead" one hour on Sunday, March 9. (And envision those little rabbits springing when you get up for work on Monday morning.)

[steamy]

My brilliant idea during the Ohio primary was for one of the candidates to come out for abolishing DST, a clear winner!

[Booktender]

I'm bored, lonely, and have a headache. So I'm ignoring the headache and posting. Excuse me if I'm more obtuse and verbose than usual.

We do indeed stay on the same time all year. Tomorrow I'll be on LA time. Today I'm on Denver time. Federal Lands, of course, do switch to DSL. Fortunately, all signs and websites refer to local time. I'm not sure about military bases.

Anyway, the last thing we need here is more light and the ensuing heat. Heat travels through walls and, while the hottest time of day may be around 2, the heat goes through the walls and reaches the interior at around 8 pm. It's quite a few degrees lower as it loses energy during the wall-transition but at 115 it's still stinkin' hot. The heat disapates around 2 am

I think you have to have a 5 or 8 foot wall for the heat to lose enough energy not to do this. If we spring forward, the heat goes through around 9 pm and doesn't abate until 3. What difference does this make? Not a lot.

To me, it would make a difference in the quality of my sleep.

Now, where was I?

[Booktender]

I just recalled what might have been one of the original reasons for DST: Farm work! But I forget why. Maybe it was WWII?

I guess feeding the cattle in the dark at 5:00 am leaves you time to be out in the fields until 8 pm and then you can quick get 8 hours before starting again?

[poolman]

I read somewhere today that changing the time really messes up a milk cows schedule. She has a load of milk ready at 2:00 AM and all of the sudden she has to wait one more hour.

[poolman]

Someone has not changed the DOL clock one hour ahead.

[poolman]

oops, maybe we are'nt on EST

[CheroCreek]

Farmers have bever needed DST. They tend to *naturally* go with the changing times of sunrise and sunset as the year progresses. The ones I've known feel that the whole DST is a Washington delusion.