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Daylight Saving Time Arrives Sunday in the States: Prepare to Spring Forward and lose some sleep

Microsoft Office Clip ArtIf you have nothing to say, say nothing. — Mark Twain

Twain was so smart.

I’ve returned to post after a long, self-imposed break from blogging, as so many great folks inside  the company work as part of their day jobs several of the areas of interest I’ve covered on my blog. Over the last year or so, I’ve spent much of my time being more social, mostly internal to the company (and with the occasional musings on Twitter) whilst working on a smattering of things that (when successful) just work and required no extraordinary post.

TL;DR: As Douglas Adams said, I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I ended up where I needed to be. 😉

The first rule of Daylight Saving Time is that there is no Daylight Saving Time (at least, in Hawaii and a few parts of North America). And if legislators in Florida have their way, residents in the state will make a move in the opposite direction and enjoy daylight saving time year round. (As of now, Gov. Rick Scott plans to “review the bill.” One can trust that they’ve seen our policy and recommendations at http://microsoft.com/time.)

The Second rule of Daylight Saving Time is that there is only one “S” in the term “Daylight Savings Time.”

Yes, that’s right: daylight saving time (aka DST) is here once again, which means it’s time to change your clocks this Sunday, March 11, 2018 as much of the United States and Canada will “Spring Forward” on Sunday at 2:00AM.

If you’re at SXSW over the next week, please keep this change in mind. (and that time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so — particularly at conferences.)

What to do

If you’re a frequent visitor to the Microsoft Daylight Saving Time & Time Zone Blog you’ll note there hasn’t been much fanfare on the semi annual clock changes, apart from the out of band shifts that various countries and territories make from time to time. For Windows 10, you usually don’t have to do anything–updates automatically download and install whenever they’re available. 

So what should you do to make sure that your computers are ready for the change? If you use Microsoft Update on your PC at home, chances are you’re already covered. The latest cumulative updates should already be installed on your PC. If you’re not sure, visit Microsoft Windows Update to check your PC and install important updates. At work, if an IT Pro (aka ‘hero’) manages your network, chances are good that the needed updates have already been installed on your computers and devices automagically.

Be sure visit the support web sites of any other software companies to see if you need to apply any updates – it’s not just Microsoft software that may require updates. Keep in mind that it’s not just the US and Canada that made changes to DST and time zones.

I tend to agree with Angela Chen over at the Verge in that we should do away with the transition and remain perpetually on daylight saving time. Just think of all of the train schedules that wouldn’t need to be updated, the elimination of confusing airline arrival and departure times, and even better: state and federal legislatures focusing on things of even greater importance.

Well, remember: time is a precious thing. Never waste it.