Springing forward sooner

You do know that Daylight Savings Time will begin three weeks earlier this year, on March 11 instead of April 1, right? I know all about it because I've been working feverishly to prevent stuff like this from happening at work:

Though many devices will update automatically on the right day, enough clocks require special attention that there will be some confusion.

A couple of decades ago, the worst-case scenario might have been people showing up an hour late to church on Sunday morning. Now consumers are relying on their phones, PDAs and computers to tell them when to be where, not to mention how to get there.

Wireless-phone providers said cell phones will automatically change their clocks March 11, but many PDAs and computers will need users to change them manually or download software patches to correct the problem.

New computers that came with Microsoft Vista will change their clocks automatically. Older PCs and Macs will be updated automatically if users accept the automatic updates. Those who don't can go online for software patches or manually reset the clocks themselves.

There's also the option of just ignoring the computer clock or the time on the electronic calendar.

Most BlackBerries will not adjust automatically - they are hardcoded to recognize the first Sunday in April as the beginning of DST, not the third Sunday in March. RIM has provided a patch, which we are in the process of deploying to our users, so that their calendars will not be off by an hour. That, not the time the handheld displays, is the problem, especially for recurring meetings that may extend well past the start of DST. If you have a BlackBerry and nobody has told you about what to do, point your handheld browser to http://www.blackberry.com/dst2007 and follow the instructions to download the patch. Good luck!

Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 25, 2007 to National news