2007 Daylight Savings Time Changes

Why is DST changing?

In compliance with the 2005 Energy Policy Act , the start and end dates of Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the United States will be changing. Beginning this year (2007), Daylight Savings Time will start three weeks earlier and end one week later than it has in the recent past. DST begins March 11, 2007 instead of April 1 and ends on November 4, 2007, instead of October 28. These four weeks are known as the "extended DST period."

How will this effect me?

This change may cause systems and applications to show time incorrectly by one hour during the extended DST period.

How do I make sure I'm ok?

To ensure your meetings and appointments are scheduled at the correct time, Information Services recommends users take the following steps on office (and home) PCs:

BE SURE TO READ THROUGH ALL OF THE BELOW INFORMATION

1. Patch your operating system:

Windows XP SP2 : Most campus PCs are patched automatically. If your computer has Automatic Updates turned on, you will have received the patch by February 18. To confirm that you have it, follow the steps below:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab. If you don't see System, click Performance and Maintenance, then System, and then click the Automatic Updates tab.
3. Make sure Automatic Updates is turned ON.

If you are using an older version of Windows or are using Outlook, go to the Microsoft Daylight Savings Help and Support Center for further information.

Mac OS: Apple is providing software updates for Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4 and later based on worldwide time zone information available as of January 8, 2007. To make sure that your clock reflects the proper time, simply install the updates that are shown for your computer in Software Update .

If you are using an older version of Mac OS, see Apple’s About Daylight Savings Time Changes in 2007 page.

Linux/Unix:  College Linux and Unix configurations will have already received the correct update.   If you are not sure if the machine is correctly updated use this command:

/usr/sbin/zdump -v /etc/localtime  | grep 2007

You should see the dates March 11 and November 4, rather than April 1 and October 28.  If you see the incorrect dates, visit the Web site of your Linux or Unix distribution, or see this page for some advice from one of BMC’s Linux admins.

2. Check your Meetingmaker or other calendar:

Review meetings and appointments you made in your calendaring software for the periods March 11 through April 1, 2007 and October 28 through November 4, 2007.

Even though the time change has been addressed on the Meetingmaker servers both here and at Haverford and Swarthmore, some clients may not correctly respond.

3. If you use a handheld device, you may need to apply an update:

Affected Palm OS devices: Treo, LifeDrive, Tungsten, Zire, and TX. Click here for the update and be sure to take ALL steps shown.

Windows Mobile OS devices:

 -- Treo 7xx series: click here for the update and be sure to take ALL steps shown.

 -- Other Windows Mobile devices: Click here for instructions.

Blackberrys: You can adjust for DST manually or apply a patch. Click here for instructions.

If you have ANY questions or problems, contact the Help Desk at x7440.