Extended
Daylight Saving Time

Just a reminder that the final week of Extended Daylight Saving Time (DST) is approaching. This energy savings measure began the second Sunday in March (March, 11, 2007) and ends the first Sunday in November (November 4, 2007).

In addition to the standard practice of changing your clocks, it is important to again remember that this new time frame may impact many devices that process or manipulate dates and/or times.  These devices include your computer and some software applications, especially calendar programs, as well as cell phones, PDAs, VCR players, and fax machines.

Many computers and devices are set to automatically adjust to DST.  If these settings are based on the old DST period, you will need to make adjustments for the new extended DST.  These adjustments are particularly critical for calendars and scheduling functions or any resources that use a time or date stamp.

To get ready for the extended DST, keep in mind the following recommendations:

• Pay close attention to your time/date sensitive resources

Know which resources will be affected by the extended DST. Calendar programs in particular will need special attention since they may be greatly impacted by the extended DST.

 

Some of the patches released to accommodate the extended DST may cause confusion and result in meeting times being listed incorrectly in your calendar. If calendar functions are critical in your area of responsibility, we strongly recommend that you take the following special measures to safeguard the accuracy of your appointment meeting times:

• Check the meeting times for any events now scheduled in your calendar between October 28, 2007 and November 4, 2007 to make sure they are accurate.
• Next, safeguard this information by including the meeting time for each event in the Subject or Event Title area of your calendar program. Since these areas are not affected by patches, you will know these times are correct and they can be easily viewed in your calendar.
• If you have to add any new events for this time period, continue to include the meeting times in the Subject or Event Title area.
• Before any meetings during this time period, reconfirm the meeting time with all attendees.

• Stay informed

Visit relevant product websites for any resources you think may be affected to see if there are patches or advice available. You can also follow news stories about the impact of the extended DST.