In case you haven't heard, our time changes to daylight-saving time (DST) earlier than usual this year. The changes result from an energy bill passed by Congress in 2005 to extend daylight-saving time by about a month. So this year, DST will start the second Sunday of March and end on the first Sunday of November.
Most business and home computer systems will need updates to properly handle the changes. Windows users can access Microsoft's information and update site at: www.microsoft.com/dst2007. Be aware that you may have to go through the update process several times as Windows, Office, Outlook and any other programs must be updated separately. According to Microsoft, if you are already running Vista, no additional updates are required. I easily downloaded and applied changes for Windows XP and Outlook. Be sure to verify updates for PDAs, mobile phone and other time-sensitive devices.
IBM also has a good DST alert site at: http://www.ibm.com/support/alerts/us/en/daylightsavingstimealert.html
According to the DST site at www.infoplease.com, most of Canada and all times zones in Mexico adopted DST. Members of the European Union agreed to observe a "summer-time period" from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Japan, China and three large regions in Australia do not observe DST. If your company has operations or scheduled meetings with foreign countries, you'll want to review, test and coordinate to prevent potential problems. Gartner advises:
- CIO and director of communications coordinate efforts to everyone across your workforce
- Provide adequate staff support throughout March in the event of problems or late vendor patches
- Monitor for changes/issues daily
From the California Energy Commission site I found a recommended book called "Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time," by David Prerau. From www.seizethedaylight.com comes the following book recommendation:
—GERALD HELFERICH, author of Humboldt’s Cosmos
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