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Extended daylight-saving may wreak havoc on electronics
March 02, 2007
Clocks will “spring forward” three weeks early this year as daylight-saving time is extended. The time change officially begins on Sunday, March 11 at 2 a.m.
Daylight-saving time was extended by one month due to the passage of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which attempts to combat growing energy problems. The starting date of the time change moved up from the first Sunday in April to the second Sunday of March, and the ending date will move back from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday of November.
The extension of daylight-saving time may affect older electronic devices, including computers, personal digital assistants, digital watches, DVD players and clocks designed in 2005 and earlier. These devices may fail to enact the time change or record transactions on the correct day.
The university has taken steps to solve any problems before they happen, said Margaret Crayton, director of user support. Software companies like Microsoft have created a “patch” to fix the problem. The patch will be distributed to all university-owned desktop computers operating Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP software prior to the time change.
For personally owned computers that operate Windows, users need to make sure the automatic update function is turned on. For more information, visit http://update.microsoft.com.
For personally owned Apple computers, users operating Mac Os X 10.2 or earlier will have to manually update their time zone definitions. For more information, visit http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305056.
Both Banner and Webmail will receive patches prior to the time change as well.
“We’re doing pretty much the same things as all schools are doing,” Crayton said. “I don’t think it will be a huge issue for us.”
CATS also suggest faculty and staff who use Corporate Time or Oracle calendar watch their schedule closely between March 10 and 11. For additional information, visit www.plu.edu/cats/daylight-savings.html.
To learn more about updating your personal electronic devices, visit www.plu.edu/cats/new-change.html.
If you notice any problems, or if you need assistance with University-owned devices, contact the Help Desk at ext. 7525. For additional assistance with your personally owned computer or electronic devices, visit the vendor’s Web site.
The extension of daylight-saving time may affect older electronic devices, including computers, personal digital assistants, digital watches, DVD players and clocks designed in 2005 and earlier. These devices may fail to enact the time change or record transactions on the correct day.
The university has taken steps to solve any problems before they happen, said Margaret Crayton, director of user support. Software companies like Microsoft have created a “patch” to fix the problem. The patch will be distributed to all university-owned desktop computers operating Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP software prior to the time change.
For personally owned computers that operate Windows, users need to make sure the automatic update function is turned on. For more information, visit http://update.microsoft.com.
For personally owned Apple computers, users operating Mac Os X 10.2 or earlier will have to manually update their time zone definitions. For more information, visit http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305056.
Both Banner and Webmail will receive patches prior to the time change as well.
“We’re doing pretty much the same things as all schools are doing,” Crayton said. “I don’t think it will be a huge issue for us.”
CATS also suggest faculty and staff who use Corporate Time or Oracle calendar watch their schedule closely between March 10 and 11. For additional information, visit www.plu.edu/cats/daylight-savings.html.
To learn more about updating your personal electronic devices, visit www.plu.edu/cats/new-change.html.
If you notice any problems, or if you need assistance with University-owned devices, contact the Help Desk at ext. 7525. For additional assistance with your personally owned computer or electronic devices, visit the vendor’s Web site.