Time Zone Updates for Microsoft Windows

As you are likely already aware of, the rules by which Daylight Savings Time (“DST”) begins and ends have been changed in the United States (and some other locations around the world). THIS HAS SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR EVERYONE AT EMERSON COLLEGE! Microsoft is releasing patches to update Windows computers and servers to use the new DST rules.

CHANGES TO DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME:

The time between the old and new DST dates is sometimes referred to as the Extended Daylight Savings Time period.

Old DST start date: First Sunday in April (would have been April 1, 2007)
NEW DST start date: Second Sunday in March (will begin at 2:00 A.M. on March 11, 2007)

Old DST end date: Last Sunday in October (would have been October 28, 2007)
NEW DST end date: First Sunday in November (will at 2:00 A.M. on November 4, 2007)

The problem created by this is previously scheduled Outlook and Entourage calendar items will appear off by one hour during the four weeks of Extended DST. There are steps which you can take to correct this side effect.

HOW TO UPDATE YOUR COMPUTER:

WINDOWS: All Windows users on campus will receive the patch automatically through the Windows Automatic Update process. If prompted to install Windows updates or restart your computer, please do so immediately. Updates may also be run manually by visiting http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ beginning the morning of Wednesday February 14.

MAC: All Macintosh users must ensure that they have installed the Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac 11.3.3 Update. This is available at http://www.microsoft.com/mac/.

HOW TO UPDATE YOUR CALENDAR ITEMS:

Everyone who uses the calendar through Outlook, Entourage, or Outlook Web Access (ECmail) will need to review all appointments and meetings occurring during the Extended DST period. Calendar items that fall within that period that were created while the Old DST rules were in place on your computer and our servers will appear to be one hour later once the New DST rules are installed.

You can download this tool (Right-click and "Save As" to your Desktop) and download/read these instructions (PDF).

You can also manually update your calendar - follow these instructions from Microsoft:

1. Print a copy of your calendar during the extended DST period for reference.
2. Manually move meetings that you organized to the correct time.
3. Send an update for the meeting that you moved to all attendees so that the attendees' calendar reflects the correct time.
4. Manually move all single-instance appointments.
5. Manually move all recurring appointments within the extended DST period. If you are prompted, move only the occurrence(s) that fall in the extended DST period. The instances that occur before and after the DST period should already reflect the correct time.

HOW TO MINIMIZE THE EFFECT OF THE EXTENDED DST PERIOD:

To minimize confusion for users during the extended DST period, follow these steps:

1. When a meeting is organized during the extended DST period, write the correct meeting time in the subject line or the body of the message. For example, include the following text in the subject line or the body of the message:

Project planning meeting - 8:30 A.M.

2. Consider any calendar items in the extended DST period to be suspect. If you are not sure, verify the correct time with the organizer.

If you need assistance updating your computer or calendar, please contact the IT Help Desk by calling x8080.