Daylight-saving time is arriving three weeks earlier this year, thanks to a new federal law aimed at decreasing energy use. Unfortunately, some of the gadgets consumers depend on will need help catching up to the time change.
Smart phones aren't smart enough on their own to know that DST begins on Sunday, March 11 this year instead of the first Sunday in April as in years past. It also ends a week later than before, so this year, clocks fall back on Sunday, November 4.
The BlackBerry 8800 from Research In Motion, which debuted this week at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, requires owners to download a software update that will tell phone the correct moment to switch into DST mode.
RIM has a special section on the BlackBerry Web site with instructions for how to install the software patch. Get the update here. -http://www.blackberry.com/select/dst2007/
The move could impact time-sensitive applications other than calendaring, such as those that process sales orders or keep track of time cards. Gartner, for example, says the bug could lead to incorrect arrival and departure times in the travel industry and result in errors in bank transactions, causing late payments. In addition, trading applications might execute purchases and sales at the wrong time, and cell phone-billing software could charge peak rates at off-peak hours.
On top of that, the effect is expected to be felt around the world: Canada and Bermuda are conforming to the U.S.-mandated change, and time zone shifts have happened in other locales as well.
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