Background
The 2005 Energy Policy Act changed the starting and ending dates for observing daylight savings time. DST now begins the second Sunday in March, and ends the first Sunday in November (previously DST started the first Sunday in April and ended the last Sunday in October). For 2007, this means DST begins Sunday March 11, the last day of spring break.
Impact
Most computer systems are configured to automatically adjust their clocks for daylight savings time. Unfortunately computers have no way of knowing on their own that the rules have changed for calculating start and end dates for DST. Every computer now has to be updated with the new rules.
Updating Your Office and Home Computers
Here's where you have to take action. Detailed instructions for installing the required software patch are available at the following web pages. Please go to the appropriate web page and install the software patch on your office computer as indicated. You should update your computer as soon as possible; you should not wait for daylights savings time begins to make this change. If you have any trouble, contact the Help Desk (helpdesk@wabash.edu, x6400) for assistance.
If you have a Windows XP computer, click the following link:
http://www.wabash.edu/technology/home.cfm?kb_id=186&pages_id=23
If you have a MacOS computer, click the following link:
http://www.wabash.edu/technology/home.cfm?kb_id=188&pages_id=23
Updating Your Handheld Devices
Like desktop and laptop computers, Palm and Blackberry handheld devices will need updated. Procedures vary based on the model of device you have, so please follow the manufacturer's instructions for updating. If you have any trouble, contact the Help Desk (helpdesk@wabash.edu, x6400) for assistance.
If you have a Palm, click the following link:
http://www.palm.com/us/support/downloads/dst.html
If you have a BlackBerry, click the following link:
http://www.blackberry.com/DST2007/patch/index2.shtml
Electronic Calendars
Due to the DST change, some calendar systems may display the incorrect times for meetings between March 11 and April 1. If you keep an electronic calendar, you may want to print your schedule for this time period in case meetings don't adjust time correctly.
Google Calendar, the officially supported calendaring system at Wabash, is compliant with the DST change, and all events created in Google Calendar will adjust correctly. One caveat: Google warns that there may be issues with meetings and events imported from another calendar application.
Other calendar systems in use at Wabash, notably Outlook and Entourage, may experience problems with this change, and events between March 11 and April 1 will be one hour off. If you use Outlook or Entourage, or any other calendar system besides Google Calendar, you can find links to detailed information about how your calendar will be affected, and what steps to take, here:
http://www.calconnect.org/dstlinks.html
Downtime for Campus Systems -- Email, Blackboard, Web Site, etc.
Like office computers, all campus servers will need patches installed to account for this change. Most systems will require a reboot, which will involve some downtime. To minimize the impact, we will patch servers in the evenings next week during spring break. Work will take place 5-8pm beginning Monday March 5 and continuing throughout the week until all servers have been patched (likely Thursday March 8).
Due to the number of systems involved and the many variables associated with patching these systems, it is not possible to pinpoint exactly when individual systems will be down. If you try to connect to a system (email, web site, file servers, etc.) one evening next week and are unable to connect, just try again 10-15 minutes later. Note that while no individual server should be down for more than 15 minutes, some systems (in particular the web site and email) are made up of many different individual servers, so the cumulative downtime could be a bit longer for some services.
For More Information...
If you have questions or concerns about this change, or need help updating systems, please contact the Help Desk (helpdesk@wabash.edu, x6400) for assistance or more information.