Daylight Saving Time last-minute reminder

Here at TUAW we're all about the public service. Really. We would hate for you to be late for brunch on Sunday, so once again let us remind you that Daylight Saving Time starts in most of the US & Canada this weekend. This year, thanks to regulatory changes, the one-hour shift starts three weeks early and ends one week later than in previous seasons. Of course, any gadget or widget with date logic in it sold before 2005 has no idea of the new rules, so this seemingly minor change has the impact of a nano-sized Y2K -- off by an hour, off by a millennium, same hassles.

The good news for Mac users is that OS X has, since version 10.4.5, included the new schedule; the recent software updates provided corrected settings for time zones outside the US and patches for 10.3 and Java. Better news: since OS X and similar Unix-like systems use Universal (Greenwich Mean) time internally, Mac clock chips don't have to worry about DST; the offset is handled in software. Windows, on the other hand, sets the hardware clock to local time; this causes the Boot Camp "five hours off" behavior and is the subject of much gnashing of teeth.

Of course, if it were a Mac-only world, things would be shiny and clean, but real life is gritty and messy. Assuming you're running some products from Microsoft, you can get the basics for fixes and updates here. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that things are going all that well with the big MS and DST: reader Chris points us to where eWeek has the scoop on the frustrations. Better call and check those brunch plans.

View Tags

Source: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305056

Categories

Odds and ends TUAW Tips

Here at TUAW we're all about the public service. Really. We would hate for you to be late for brunch on Sunday, so once again let us remind...

Add a Comment

Sign in »

8 Comments

Filter by:

Rhett

What about the time settings on iPod? Does it get some kind of update or does it have to be done manually?
Thanks

March 09 2007 at 12:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

iamdigitalman

hmm, you guys no longer talk about jaguar. It's still a damn fine OS, especailly on older hardware. there is a 3rd part update out there. I applied it on my wallstreet, and it runs just fine. all you do is drag the shell script to the terminal, execute (with sudo), and reboot. works like a charm.

here's the link:

http://software.brown.edu/dist/m-dstjaguar.html

March 09 2007 at 11:16 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Jason Golden

Another small correction: DST actually starts *three* weeks earlier this year than in past years, not two. Daylight Saving Time used to be the first Sunday in April. You are correct about one week later in November.

March 09 2007 at 11:02 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Carl Trimble

As a windows system admin running a Mac. I am pissed off! I have to download these updates and put them in our active directory server. BUT YOU HAVE TO VALIDATE! I AM ON A MAC, HOW THE HELL CAN I VALIDATE YOU PIECE OF SH*T MICROSOFT?

I guess I will just have to RDC my active directory box and then unlock internet explorer and add microsoft update to trusted sites then download these updates, then copy them to my thumb drive and to the installs directory of my AD box. All these steps just to copy a couple files.

March 09 2007 at 10:49 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Uncle Jerry

Canada = America's step-child, nobody really cares about it.

March 09 2007 at 10:43 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Michael Rose

Thanks Curtis; fixed.

March 09 2007 at 10:40 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Adamba

at the end of day if your dual booting, live in the uk and then its not an issue!

March 09 2007 at 10:26 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Curtis

"â€¦ Daylight Saving Time starts in most of the US this weekend." should read "â€¦ Daylight Saving Time starts in most of the US and Canada this weekend."

March 09 2007 at 10:24 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply