Daylight Savings

Daylight Savings Time 2007 In case you missed it, this weekend your clock will be springing forward an hour. DST will occur earlier that usual this year, due to a law passed by Congress called the Energy Policy Act of 2005. From this point forward, DST will begin on the second Sunday of March at 2:00am, and will end on the first Sunday of November at 2:00am.

“Consider any calendar items in the extended DST period to be suspect. If you are not sure, verify the correct time with the organizer” – Microsoft

This year, the DST switch is going to cause some potential software problems you need to be aware about. If you use an application that is date-dependent, such as Outlook, check with the manufacturer to see if an update exists for the program. In most cases, DST information is hard-coded into the application. Translation: your software app and/or operating system might not update DST until the first Sunday in April and the last Sunday in October based on the previous DST schedule that was in placed 1987 through 2006.

Here are some tips I received from a colleague:

Here are a few steps which you as an Outlook user should take to assure that your information is accurate:

  1. First, check to make sure your calendar events are right. (look at the time in “calendar view” and compare it to the time once you’ve opened it. Just chose some at random and make sure you check a couple of reoccurring events.)
  2. Print your calendar to refer to after the change.
  3. IT will be installing a program and changing the DST pattern tomorrow.
  4. After DST begins, compare your printed calendar to your digital calendar.
  5. Do it again in 3 weeks to make sure your events have not changed when DST used to begin.

For more information, please check out, this article: “Prepare Outlook calendar items for daylight saving time changes in 2007” on the Microsoft Office website. Information in the article applies to Outlook 2007, Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2002.