Is DST the new Y2K?
Unless you're an IS/IT professional, you probably haven't thought much about the new U.S. daylight saving time (DST) changes, and if you have, your response likely has been, "Excellent--springtime comes three weeks early!"
Yet, as CNET TV's Tom Merritt explains, those extra hours of sunshine come at a price--the potential to wreak havoc with time-sensitive software.
The change occurs because of the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, which extended DST by four weeks a year, starting in 2007. The DST period will now run from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November. Because DST arrives on March 11 and not April 1, software needs to be able to handle the new time change.
That's why the DST changes are a pain for IS/IT workers, but what about you and your home computer? Well, you'll still want your scheduled virus and malware scans to run at their set times, and if you use Outlook, you'll want all your calendar settings to be in accordance with DST.
So how should you prepare? If you're running Windows Vista, you're already set. If you're running Windows XP SP2, you likely received the necessary Windows update last month. To be sure, go to the Add or Remove Programs panel, check "Show updates," and look for "Update for Windows XP (KB931836)." If you don't have it, download it .
Windows 2000 users can apply DST changes using the Windows Time Zone Editor (Tzedit.exe) available . Windows PCs running anything earlier than Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 will need to their adjust their system clocks manually. (Remember, spring forward, fall back.)
After you update Windows, you're all set, right? Not quite. Remember all those Outlook appointments you've already made between March 11 and April 1? As Rafe Needleman has ranted on Webware.com, those appointments now will be one hour late. Luckily for you, there's a plug-in.
The Time Zone Data Update Tool for Microsoft Office Outlook fixes that missing-hour glitch in Office for those three weeks.
If you think that the Windows process is complicated, just think about those poor IT folks. At least you don't have to manage a corporate e-mail server. For more info, see the Microsoft Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center.
So how are you preparing for the imminent DST change? Are you downloading the necessary updates now, waiting for Sunday, or letting the chips fall where they may?
Peter Butler
Senior Editor, CNET Download.com
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