Y2K7 BUG-TIME ZONE WOES
Don't worry; this time around we won't have to stock up on canned goods or bottles of water like we did in 2000. (Yes, we all did it, and we all sat around til midnight waiting for the electricity to shut off.) This time, we really don't have that much to worry about. I mean were only talking about the time change here. On March 11 we'll be springing the clocks ahead an hour where previously we would have done it on the first Sunday in April. This was an Act put in place by the U.S. Congress in July of 2005. Their reasoning behind the change is that people will use less electricity for lighting if they have extra daylight later in the evening. The House Energy and Commerce committee claims that the four-week extension could save the equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil per day in energy use. Now with the history lesson put in place, how does this affect us?
Computers….computers…..can't live with them, and yet, their everywhere. For most people the time change will be more of an inconvenience at worst. Why? Well, the majority of the planet, people like you and I, don't really care what time the computer thinks it is. We can just reset the clock and go on with our lives. What's affected is software, specifically calendaring or appointment type, written before the Energy Policy Act was put into place, because it still thinks that the time change is in April. Think about the mess that this creates with the banks, the airlines, online auctions, or companies that carry large lists of appointments. I would double check your phone bills too, there's something about timing and billing that make's me a little nervous.
This can be a simple fix or a hard one depending on what you do. Here are the people affected. Anyone who has Windows XP and under, meaning Windows ME, 98 or Windows 95, and yes Mac users as well. The lucky Windows Vista users need not worry but I would double-check your calendaring software just in case. Microsoft has issued out a patch to fix the problem and as long as you have your Windows Automatic Updates turned on you should have already received it. But there is a problem with this as well. The patch only works on Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed. Not sure if you have it? Try right clicking on you're My Computer icon on your desktop, or in your Start Menu, and choose Properties. There listed in the General tab under System you will see Service Pack 2, if not then you don't have it. Trust me when I say, "Your computer won't be eaten by the dreaded Y2K7 bug". Then what do you do? Well, you change the time manually. (Yes, it's that simple) Click on Start, go to the Control Panel and click on the Date and Time icon. This is what the average user will be doing, that's you and I (90 percent of the computer users affected by DST). Now everyone else, it is my personal recommendation that you print out any data that may be affected within the three-week time span (March 11 through April 1). This way you can visually see any changes that were made to things like appointments and change them back accordingly. Even Microsoft has gone on to say to be very cautious about meetings between these time periods, because if one person applied the patch, and one person didn't, you could end up at an appointment at the wrong time.
The best way to make sure your not completely affected is to unclick the setting that tells the machine to automatically change the clock for daylight-savings time, which can be done through the Control Panel as well under the Date and Time icon. Microsoft's patch, called TZMOVE or Time Zone Move, can be downloaded by visiting http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst . Just simply answer the on screen instructions to get started. Mac users running OS 10.4.6 and above, the patch should already be installed. For versions earlier, you'll have to manually change the time.
This is a small bug, blown out of proportion like Y2K. What's the worse that could happen? I miss a meeting, or heaven forbid my VCR clock is flashing 12 again. Large business's and corporations are on top of things and their well prepared. Put your fly swatters away and enjoy the fact that we don't have to drive home in the dark come 5pm.
