Are Your Gadgets Ready for the Time Change?

Daylight-saving time arrives late this year--we gain an hour on November 4. You already know this, but does your electronic gear?

Federal lawmakers voted two years ago to extend daylight-saving time (DST) one week to help conserve energy. Businesses have worked hard to patch their computers so time critical systems like electronic stock trading, billing, and airline schedules work without missing a beat. But for smaller companies and consumers, the time change may not be snag free.

"It's the small stuff that people have to worry about," says Andrea Protas, director of research for eEye Digital Security. "Any small electronics like VCRs, alarm clocks, and wrist watches are susceptible to error."

It's just the flip side of the concerns raised seven months ago when daylight-saving time kicked in earlier, by Congressional action.

Time on Your Side?

The Consumer Electronics Association agrees and says electronics that predate 2005 (when Congress made the change) may experience problems when internal clocks not programmed to recognize DST on the new schedule fail to recognize the time change.

On the other hand, gear that connects to a central system like cell phones, computers, and digital video recording devices such as Tivo, will handle the time change without a problem, says Megan Pollock, spokesperson with CEA.

Despite the promise of a worry-free transition to the new DST, some hiccups have already been reported. Baltimore car owners who parked their car in front of hi-tech parking meters over the weekend were cheated of one hour of parking and some received tickets, according to The Baltimore Sun. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports pre-programmed traffic signals in Pittsburgh jumped the gun causing rush hour traffic jams when traffic lights started blinking yellow an hour early.

Download the Patch

PCs running Windows Vista and XP systems that have received Windows XP Service Pack 2 are safe from DST confusion. Owners of handhelds running the Windows Mobile OS are directed to Microsoft's own DST information center to download a patch.

Palm made updates available to its customers some time ago, but that doesn't mean you downloaded them. Some of the DST vulnerable handhelds are the Treo (700p, 680, 650, 600, 300, and 270) along with various models of the Zire and the Tungsten. Palm is also prompting customers who use devices with the Windows Mobile OS to download a patch as well.

Don't Waste Time

Keeping your PC on correct system time is more important than you might assume.

Accurate time is an important factor to ensure data files and e-mail get the correct time stamps. It is particularly important if you synchronize data files, because time stamps often determine which file is more recent. Incorrect time can also make e-mail look older (or newer) than it actually is, a trick used by many e-mail spammers who deliberately change their system time.