Now that DST has occurred ......

Now that the DST time change has occurred there are a few things you should check and monitor. Here’s a short list.

1. Check the time on your computer. If it’s right, good. If it’s not, double click on the tine and set the time manually. Make a note of the computers that you have to do this to as it indicates the DST patch was not installed. The patch can and should still be installed.

2. If after you set the time on your computer the time reverts back to the wrong time, you probably need to check the time on your servers. If it is wrong, you can manually set it but give us a call as this indicates that the DST patch has not been installed on that server.

3. Check your Outlook appointments. If they are correct, good. If not, you can manually fix the appointments or you can run the Outlook DST tool which we can send you. Keep your eye on your reminders as well.

4. If you use any other scheduling programs (that means you VNAs), check the schedules to insure they are correct. All appointments and schedules should be suspect until verified.

5. Remember that even if you took care of all the DST stuff and your systems are fine, others may not have dealt with the DST changes. If you use meeting invitations to either invite others to meetings or if they send you meeting invites, you need to keep your eye on the meeting times and verify everyone invited to the meeting has the correct time.

6. Check your phone and voice mail systems. Many of them may not have handled the DST changes. If your phone system is not switching to day and night mode properly, the problem is probably that the DST transition did not occur.

7. I have found that if applications were running on your desktop when the time changed, those applications may not operate properly until they are restarted.

8. Continue to monitor your system backup to make sure everything is working correctly. DST changes can affect them.

9. Check your watch and other clocks.

10. Please change the batteries in your smoke detectors!

And of course feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

More DST Updates

This Daylight Savings Time issue is getting fun! Microsoft has updated a couple of its fixes and moved most of them to the Critical Update section of the Microsoft Update Service. One nice thing is that they have created a website where Windows Mobile 5 cell phone users can browse to to download the DST fix directly to their phone. I've tried it and it worked flawlessly. I have updated our DST document to reflect the most recent changes. It can be found here. Just open the PDF attachment. I will update this document as more information is available.

One new thing since I updated the DST document; Symantec has indicated that Backup Exec uses the Windows date and time functions for backup scheduling. As long as you have the Windows DST updates installed you should be good. However, if your backup is scheduled between 2:00am and 3:00am, you may have problems. When DST comes on in March there will be no 2:00am to 3:00am and when DST ends in November there will be two 2:00 to 3:00am! Fun right?

2007 DST Changes Need Some Attention

The beginning and ending dates for Daylight Savings Time will change this year. The start date will be the second Sunday in March (March 11) instead of the first Sunday of April (April 1). The end date will be the first Sunday of November (Nov 4) instead of the last Sunday of October (Oct 28). Because Windows is aware and adjusts for DST, it will need to be updated to properly handle the change. I have created a document that details the changes and what need to be done. You can locate the document here.

Microsoft is still in the process of testing and releasing patches for the various programs that are affected. I will update this document as new information is available.

It would also be a good idea to check with your other software vendors to see if the change affects their software. This would be mostly applications that use date and time functions like scheduling applications.

I Was Wondering When This Would Happen

This week, at MacWorld, Apple announced the long anticipated iPhone. It's looks like a pretty cool phone, although I think I will stay with my Windows Mobile phone for now. However, there is one slight problem. Cisco released their iPhone a couple of months ago. It turns out that a company that Cisco purchased several years ago launched the iPhone product in the late 90s. Cisco patented the name in 2000. So Cisco is now suing Apple. This blog written by a Cisco legal VP, is Cisco side of the story. Obviously, Apple is aware and must think they have a good chance to beat this. Otherwise a lot of money and marketing will go down the tubes.

Another cool or at least amazing CES product launch is the Hitachi 1 Terabyte hard disk drive. 1 Terabyte is 1000 Gigabytes! Truly amazing! Just think, the first hard drive I worked with was 5 Megabytes. 1 Gigabyte is 1000 Megs, 1 Terabyte is 1000 Gigabytes. And to think that I am constantly telling people to clean up old files! Here is more information on the drive.

Busy IT News Week

This week is one of the busiest IT related news weeks of the year. The Consumer Electronics Show is happening in Las Vegas (I should have gone). CES is where all the major (and not so major) consumer electronics manufacturers show all the new cool stuff that they are working on. Some of the products are available now and some will be available over the coming year. My technology blogs are going crazy with articles about all this new stuff.

So far, the most interesting thing to me is the Microsoft Home Server. Yes, a server for your home. Think about it. How many homes now have more than one computer. The home is now where small businesses were 6 or 7 years ago. Multiple computers mean the need to share stuff and the need to back stuff up, and how about the need to access your stuff when you are away. You can bet there will be a Microsoft Home Server at 87 Barton Street!

Here is a video of an interview with Bill Gates. The interview was run by Robert Scoble, one of the bloggers I follow, and several other industry news people. Very interesting. Gates looks and sounds better than ever. And here is the link to his CES Keynote Address. If you want to see some really cool stuff check it out.

Next year I will be at this thing!