Don’t sweat early change to DST
February 23, 2007 by admin
To listen to some of the online hype, you’d think the cyberspace sky is falling come March 11 when Daylight Savings Time kicks in three weeks earlier than normal in an effort to save energy costs by maximizing daylight hours. Doomsayers are predicting massive problems because most computers have their internal clocks programmed for the old DST date.
Fear not. Apple and Microsoft have sent down new fixes for their operating systems but even if you don’t get it, the worst possible effect is you may be an hour late to an appointment if you rely on your computer. To fix this minor glitch is as easy as downloading that automatic fix.
Microsoft has a detailed section of information on dealing with this simple little hiccup at www.microsoft.com/dst2007. To get the software patch for an automatic update, go to http://update.microsoft.com. For Mac users, Apple has a list of all updates at www.apple.com/support/downloads
Adv: Click Here for info on how to make sure your Windows registry is working properly
Hello “Mike”,
I’ve tried everything to my skill level in regards to this “change” on DST. I would need some major help OR for the next 6-7 months, add 1 hour. If you do have a “simple” sugestion, PLEASE, one simple step at a time, Thank you.
Mike:
Your piece on the DST change essentially discounted the impact on systems for consumers. True.., or at least likely…., because they need only apply the patch one time…, maybe two, depending on number of devices they own/use.
The impact on businesses however could be substantial. The details have been trickling in and are of a nature that we think many organizations may find they’re running to correct things on Monday morning, March 12th after believing they took the measures to remediate beforehand.
My organization wrote a patch for older Microsoft business systems because Microsoft was not going to offer a patch unless they bought a costly Extended Hotfix Support Agreement. We understand this would have been at a cost in excess of $ 100,000.00. After substantial backlash, they are now offering for the modest price of $ 4,000.
And many companies MUST automate the process. If they are a 24/7 operation, when would they update? And the concept of updating 100 systems or 1000 systems is a nightmarish proposition for most admins.
More importantly, we are finding many organizations are now contacting us from all over the country because they understand it’s not as easy as simply applying the MS (our focus) patch.
Suffice to say, we are anticipating a lot of calls on March 12th by companies with DST change issues. We believe this event could result in substantial and negative business impact.
Thanks,
Michael (Mike) Streib
Innovative Integration, Inc.
http://www.innovativeii.com/dst
Thanks, Mike, for the input.
You’re correct… my piece is aimed strictly at the impact on home/consumer computers.
I’m glad I’m not a corporate IT guy dealing with this.
Talk about a headache!
I think the previous poster summed up the issue very well. The additions I would add are devices that are computers that fall outside the normal scope of patch management. A lot of organizations work within a “thin” environment and have Windows CE devices that will fall victim to this. Procurement and delivery of patches to these devices is not always a simple task. Other devices that will be affected include corporate PBX systems, smart phones(still waiting on a patch for my treo 700w), ATM machines based on an embedded computer platform, and point of sale systems. Any application that requires a Java JVM is affected and each version of each JVM on a consumer’s system would need to be upgraded.
You are discounting the impact of this event and doing a disservice to your readers. The reason so many sites are throwing up red flags is because this will be an event that causes a huge business impact. I understand that you cater to a consumer level audience, but I have to believe that within your audience you reach quite a few business decision makers who would benefit from the real story.
Admin says:
Thanks, Mike, for the input.
You’re correct… my piece is aimed strictly at the impact on home/consumer computers.
I’m glad I’m not a corporate IT guy dealing with this.
Talk about a headache!
My reply is simple. Many business people watch the AM news and might have been engaged in discussions about this business impacting issue in recent days. They may now have the perception that everything is fine, that their IT team may be “blowing smoke” and there’s nothing to worry about.
Everyone watching your piece spends a large amount of their day engaged in business…, whether administrative staff or C-level executives, the message lacks clarity. And what about those people who work from home or have home based businesses?
Great news & advice…