Will your computer spring ahead tonight?

Overnight tonight, we are going to adventure into the land of DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME (DST). Yes, early this year (and it will last a week longer in the Fall).

Will your computer's experience of SPRINGING AHEAD be smooth and painless or will it wake up tomorrow in STANDARD TIME?

Because the date on which DST starts and ends changes this year in most of the US and many other places, the magic trick by which our computers automatically change their internal time when we boot up on the morning of the change may need some tweaking.

First, let's count off by WINDOWS or MAC and form two lines.

MAC users will want to check out the following useful article --

• Mac: "Daylight Saving Time changes in 2007"

The gist of Apple's advice is that whether or not you think you are ready, you ought to go through the steps outlined in the article.

All you wild and wooly WINDOWS users form up over here --

• Microsoft: "Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center"

First, note that it is best to work through the Microsoft process by using Internet Explorer rather than another browser (such as Firefox, PT's default browser). The reason is that Microsoft uses some behind-the-scenes tricks (Active X) that are most easily supported by their own browser.

If your Windows system is set to automatically update, your computer may already have been tweaked. If you are not sure, it doesn't hurt to initiate the Microsoft process. You will get an annoying 'clunk' sound along with a message box letting you know you're already taken care of.

The updating process is quite smooth. When you boot up tomorrow morning, you should be greeted with a message that your computer has updated your clock. This will mean you're covered for the extended week this Fall and until the government gets another fit of fixin' at some point in the future.

AOL users have their own reference article here --

• "Another Lost Hour of Sleep"

Don't forget to change your clocks AND your SMOKE ALARM BATTERIES.

---

Further reading

• WP's Rob Pegoraro: "Last-Minute Help With DST for computers and other gadgets"
  
• ZDNet's Tips Page: "DST: Tips for Microsoft users"
• History and Rationale of DST: "Daylight Savings Time"
• NIST's Exhibits Links: "Time & Frequency Exhibits"
• NIST's FAQ Page: "Frequenty asked questions"

-- Dan Damon

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