[RTC List] FYI

[Gregg Foster]

Microsoft Issues Warning On Daylight-Saving Time Software Flaw 
Microsoft says the Y2K-like implications of the change in the start of
daylight-saving time means computer users need to parry like its 1999.
By Paul McDougall,  InformationWeek 
Feb. 14, 2007 
URL:
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=1970060
39 
Microsoft is warning customers that the switch to early daylight-saving
time this year isn't accounted for in a number of its products,
including Windows XP, and that users will need to update their software
to avoid potential problems. 
U.S. daylight-saving time will start on March 11 this year -- three
weeks earlier than usual. The change was authorized by the U.S. Energy
Policy Act of 2005, but Microsoft says its Y2K-like implications mean
computer users need to parry like its 1999. 
"Unless certain updates are applied to your computer, it is possible
that the time zone settings for your computer's system clock may be
incorrect during this four-week period," the software maker said in a
statement issued Tuesday. 
That could lead to all kinds of problems, from calendaring applications
not working properly to key, automated processes not taking place on
time. 
Microsoft said the fix is already built into Windows Vista and Office
2007, but that earlier operating systems and applications could be hit
by the problem. As of Tuesday, the company had released an update for
Windows XP SP2 users via its Automatic Updates service. Users need to
ensure they have Auto Update enabled. 
Most of Microsoft's other major products, including Outlook 2007 and its
predecessors, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Visual Studio, Windows CE, and a
number of others, need to be updated, meaning some long nights may be in
store for IT staffers leading up to the time switch. 
Microsoft also warned that the problem isn't limited to its software.
Consumer appliances such as VCRs and digital radios may not
automatically adjust to the early start of daylight-saving time. Many
systems on the business technology side also could be affected. IBM, for
instance, has issued updates for some of its disk storage products and
other systems. 
In a research report, IT advisory firm Gartner is advising businesses to
establish company-wide communications programs informing employees about
possible effects of the early time changeover and to ensure that their
tech departments are fully staffed on March 11 and March 12. 
 
 
Gregg Foster
Executive Director
Redwood Region Economic Development Commission
520 E Street
Eureka, CA  95501
707-445-9651
707-445-9652 (fax)
rredc at northcoast.com <mailto:rredc at northcoast.com> 
www.rredc.com <http://www.rredc.com> 
 
Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win
By fearing to attempt.
 - Willlam Shakespeare
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://redwoodtech.org/pipermail/list_redwoodtech.org/attachments/20070214/e3b390f9/attachment.html