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Early daylight-savings confused some computers
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The recent three-week advancement to begin daylight-savings did more then just save energy; it disrupted the internal clocks of many electrical devices.
Many older electronic devices are programmed to spring forward on April 1, not March 11.
To negate computer problems, Congress approved this year’s change two years ago when it passed the Energy Act of 2005.
The new mandate changed day-light savings to start three weeks earlier and end one week later in the fall.
Most major computer systems have been able to adapt in time.
Some devices, however, remain fixed on the outdated calendar.
David Prerau, author of Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Saving Time, said many of these devices could be fixed.
“If you have software programs or electronic devices that are preprogrammed to the old daylight saving time system, you should contact the manufacturers and see if they have patches to upgrade them to the new system,” Prerau said.
Many computers and other electronic devices were prepared.
Windows Vista came ready out of the box.
Most cell phones automatically receive the accurate time when they are turned on.
Other devices needed updates or manual fixes to adapt to the new calendar.
Airlines had to change their schedules because many other countries won’t observe daily-savings until April.
Computers running Windows XP or Mac OS 10 likely require an update to adjust to the correct time.
However, many of these computers fix themselves in automatic updates.
Certain advanced cell phones and handheld devices require users to run an update from their companies’ Website.
This includes BlackBerries, most PDAs, and smart phones.
Palm devices and PDAs that are not connected to a network should also be updated from the manufacturer’s Website.
The iPod’s calendar feature is fixed upon synchronization.
“Users will need to sync up with their computers to get that update to daylight savings time, and it will be automatically updated,” Tom Neumayr, Apple’s senior manager for iPod said.
While many of these problems have relatively little impact, the FDA has issued a warning to consumers using medical equipment that has time applications.
It warns that an hour’s difference in giving some medications is possibly detrimental.
Nathan Thomas
