Computer Services
Daylight Saving Time Information
Three years ago, the United States Congress passed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. One of the provisions of the new law was to change the dates when the country begins and ends Daylight Saving Time (DST):
|
Previous Law |
New Law |
| DST began on the first Sunday in April | DST will begin on the second Sunday in March |
| DST ended on the last Sunday in October | DST will end on the first Sunday in November |
The new law took effect January 1, 2007.
Most computers and many consumer electronic devices will be affected by the DST change. Just how serious these effects will be is not yet clear. While no one is anticipating anything like what was predicted (and didn’t happen) at Y2K, most computers (as well as many other devices) have operating systems that are hard-coded to change their system times according to the old DST rules. These operating systems will need patches (if available) to avoid calendar and other synchronization problems and, in some cases, to avoid serious software and hardware malfunctions.
Computer Services has attempted to identify the operating systems and other software applications in use on campus that will be affected by the new DST rules. Faculty and staff are urged to take precautions to ensure that their computers can accommodate the changes in DST law, at least to the extent that it is supported by vendors.
Please follow the links below to see how your computer may be affected by the DST change, and what steps you need to take:
When will Daylight Saving Time begin and end in 2008?
|
New Law |
| DST will begin on March 9, 2008 |
| DST will end on November 2, 2008 |