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Announcement: Late 2011 time zone changes for Armenia, Belarus, Ukraine

Important update October 21, 2011: Please note we have received reports that Armenia and Ukraine have canceled their proposed changes. (http://blogs.technet.com/b/dst2007/archive/2011/10/19/notice-ukraine-and-armenia-revert-2011-dst-cancellation.aspx).

According to reports in Rada and Kyivpost that we have confirmed through our offices in the region, Ukraine will not stay on permanent summer time and instead will fall back to winter time on October 30, 2011 as originally scheduled. If these reports become the plan of record, customers in Armenia and Ukraine will not have to adjust time zone settings on their computers that are running Windows operating system.

The Microsoft Knowledgebase article KB2625508 has been updated with this information.

 

[10/06/2011: See this blog post form the Windows team for more information on the changes.]

As I noted in a post last week, we confirmed that similar to the move in Russia, that Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine won’t fall back but also stay permanently on summer time on October 30.

Microsoft’s guidance for Windows to the affected countries will be to move to another time zone has been released in the KB Article 2011 time zone changes for Eastern Europe…

Ukraine, Belarus, and Armenia have decided to discontinue daylight saving time in 2011. According to the current Windows time zone rules, daylight saving time (summer time) is (UTC+3:00) in Belarus and Ukraine and (UTC+5:00) in Armenia. Summer time is scheduled to end on October 30, 2011 and move to winter time, which is (UTC+2:00) in Belarus and Ukraine and (UTC+4:00) in Armenia. According to the latest changes, they will remain on summer time (UTC +3:00) indefinitely and will not “fall back” to winter time. However, Ukraine, Belarus, and Armenia have now discontinued winter time and will remain permanently on summer time.

The native time zones for the affected countries will be updated in the next planned cumulative Windows time update in December 2011. No hotfix is planned for release in the interim. Users in these time zones should move to the following alternative suggested time zones:

  • (UTC +3:00) Kaliningrad
  • (UTC +5:00) Tashkent

Note To move to the “(UTC +3:00) Kaliningrad” time zones, customers must first install the August 2011 cumulative time zone update for Windows operating systems (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2570791).  A new time zone will be created for Ukraine and Belarus in the December 2011 Windows time cumulative update, which users can move back to.

Affected Country Current Native Time Zone Current Standard Time Current Summer Time (DST) New Workaround Time Zone (no DST)

Belarus

(UTC+02:00) Minsk

UTC+2:00

UTC+3:00

(UTC +3:00) Kaliningrad

Ukraine

(UTC+02:00) Helsinki, Kyiv, Riga, Sofia, Tallinn, Vilnius

UTC+2:00

UTC+3:00

(UTC +3:00) Kaliningrad

Armenia

(UTC+04:00) Yerevan

UTC+4:00

UTC+5:00

(UTC +5:00) Tashkent

For more information, click the following article number to view Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2570791 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2570791/) August 2011 cumulative time zone update for Windows operating systems

 

Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, RSS, DST, Russia

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Armenia, Belarus, Ukraine to abolish Daylight Saving Time, Microsoft guidance for Windows

Clocks, courtesy of Office Clip Art[Updated 21 October, 2011] Please note we have received reports that Armenia and Ukraine have canceled their proposed changes. (http://blogs.technet.com/b/dst2007/archive/2011/10/19/notice-ukraine-and-armenia-revert-2011-dst-cancellation.aspx). According to reports in Rada and Kyivpost, Ukraine will not stay on permanent summer time and instead will fall back to winter time on October 30, 2011 as originally scheduled. If these reports become the plan of record, customers in Armenia and Ukraine will not have to adjust time zone settings on their computers that are running Windows operating system.

As I noted this week noted this week, I posted on the Microsoft Corporate blog about our efforts to inform our customers and partners on our activities related to the end of daylight saving time in the Russian Federation, a change noted earlier this year. For our customers and partners worldwide, this means there are some things to be aware of and in some cases work to do to prepare for this change.

As you may know, in 2011, the Russian government adopted a law to cancel Summer Time (the region’s term for daylight saving time, or DST) and won’t “fall back” to standard, winter time.

We now have confirmed reports that similar to the move in Russia, that Armenia, Belarus and Ukraine won’t fall back but also stay permanently on summer time on October 30. (There have been some initial rumours about other countries following Russia’s lead and considering cancelling Daylight saving time too. We will also provide details on these changes as they come up and are ratified and enacted into law.)

Microsoft’s guidance for Windows to the affected countries will be to move to another time zone (referred to as ‘workaround time zone’ in the table below).

The ‘workaround time zone’ will be used until Microsoft updates the native time zones in the next Windows Time Zone Cumulative Update (scheduled for December 2011). No Hotfix will be issued in the interim for these changes.

 

 

Country

Current Native Time Zone

New Standard Time

Daylight Time

Workaround Time Zone    (No DST)

Belarus

(UTC+02:00) Minsk

UTC+2:00

UTC+3:00

(UTC +3:00) Kaliningrad

Ukraine

(UTC+02:00) Helsinki, Kyiv, Riga, Sofia, Tallinn, Vilnius

UTC+2:00

UTC+3:00

(UTC +3:00) Kaliningrad

Armenia

(UTC+04:00) Yerevan

UTC+4:00

UTC+5:00

(UTC+05:00) Tashkent

 

Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, RSS, DST, Russia

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Changes to daylight saving time in Russia for 2011: third party resources & guidance

A question from the virtual mailbag today…

"I know that you have released guidance on Microsoft products and services for the end to Summer Time in Russia. But what about other products in our stack?"

Good question.

Here are the responses I’m aware of today.

Blackberry: To find the latest DST updates available for BlackBerry, navigate to the BlackBerry Knowledge Base (http://btsc.webapps.blackberry.com/btsc/microsites/microsite.do)  Enter the Search term “daylight savings time” and Sort By: Publication Date. RIM has established a release schedule of Spring and Fall that matches Microsoft’s cycle closely.  Enterprise customers are advised by their Support Account Managers when a new DST patch is released.  Customers are also able to receive interim updates that can be deployed to devices by the “Script method” before the spring or fall scheduled release. 

I’ll add other links to this page as we’re aware of them, and list them on the "Other Resources" tab on our Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center. In the past, we saw good information from many different companies as I noted here. Likely you should be able to find guidance from your device and system providers.

 

Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, RSS, DST, Russia

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DON’T Turn Back the Clock: Microsoft Provides Resources for Change in Daylight Saving Time in Russia

Early this morning, I posted on the Microsoft Corporate blog about our efforts to inform our customers and partners on our activities related to the end of daylight saving time in the Russian Federation, a change noted earlier this year. For our customers and partners worldwide, this means there are some things to be aware of and in some cases work to do to prepare for this change. (long link: http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_blog/archive/2011/09/29/don-t-turn-back-the-clock-microsoft-provides-resources-for-change-in-daylight-saving-time-in-russia.aspx).

As you may know from my prior posts on the subject, Russia has decided to cancel daylight saving time (DST) in the country and will not “fall back” to Russian Standard Time this fall. The country will no longer have to make the twice-a-year changes to their clocks in the future. And while the elimination of DST directly affects those living in Russia, given the size and impact of the Russian market, the ramifications are global. At Microsoft, we’re stepping up work with our customers and partners to address the impact on users’ computers and servers.

By the way, an important note:  the rules for daylight saving time remain in effect and the same in the United States and Canada, as well as for many other countries that use DST and “Summer Time” over the summer months. The latest changes are noted in my post here, and cals out the exception that is Newfoundland (as the DST start time and end time for Newfoundland Standard Time [Display Name “(UTC-3:30) Newfoundland”] has been updated from 12:01 A.M. to 2:00 A.M.).

In the post, there’s information for consumers (chances are they already have the needed updates via WU)…

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 update – the August 2011 Cumulative Time Zone Update for Windows – may already be installed on your PC if you have turned on Automatic Update in Windows. This ensures you’ll get the latest security and other important updates from Microsoft automatically. This latest update includes the changes for Russia as well as other worldwide changes (including Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Fiji, Samoa and Newfoundland). If you’re not sure if the update has been applied, visit the Microsoft Update site for more information.

If someone manages your network at work, it’s likely the needed updates are schedule to be deployed to your computers and devices, if they haven’t been installed already.

For IT professionals managing PCs, servers and Microsoft software installations, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/time for more details. Also, visit the support websites of any other software companies to see if you need to apply any updates. It’s not just Microsoft software that may require updates.

The calls to action for IT Pros to visit the corporate site for more details and to attend one of the upcoming webcasts to help prepare for these changes and to learn more. We’re offering a series of new webcasts to help customers and organizations preparing for daylight saving time, particularly these new changes in Russia, beginning on Oct. 3rd. This is part of our “step-by-step” program on making the DST transition. Geared toward IT professionals, we’ll walk through a general overview of DST and the impacts and solutions for Windows, Outlook and Exchange. To find a list of these upcoming webcasts, visit http://www.microsoft.com/time.

Webcasts start up on October 3rd and will offer more guidance to IT Pros on the impacts and solutions for many of our software and services offerings. For more information on DST and a list of the upcoming webcasts, visit Microsoft Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center (http://www.microsoft.com/time). There you’ll find links to updates for various products in support affected by this change, as well as other various changes to DST offsets and time zones around the world. Additionally, the team in Microsoft Russia provides specific details and guidance in country at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst/ru. 

 

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Advisory: Samoa moving their time zone, traveling to the future

MC900189348[1]When is December 30th not December 30th?

When it’s 2011 in Samoa.

As you may have read, Samoa has decided to move ahead in time and join neighbors and trading partners on the western side of the International Date line (like Australia and New Zealand). In doing so, Samoa will move from December 29th directly to December 31st this year.

This from the Singapore Straits Times…

“Samoa’s parliament has confirmed a plan to switch time zones so that it lies to the west of the international dateline, bringing its clocks closer to major trading partners in Australasia.

“Parliament on Monday backed Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi’s plan to jump ahead by one day later this year, meaning Samoa will skip Friday, Dec 30, and move straight to Saturday, Dec 31. The prime minister said the change would facilitate business with Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Business is currently restricted to three trading days a week.”

So, this year, there will be no Friday, December 30, 2011 in Samoa’s history.

Technical Changes

The change will be a move from from UTC -11:00 to UTC+13:00, and a change in the display name for UTC +13:00 time zone (Nuku’alofa, Samoa). So, on the next clock tick after Dec 29, 2011 at 23:59:59, Samoa’s UTC offset becomes UTC +13:00. And the next clock tick will be is Dec 31, 2011 00:00:000. Cartographers will have some challenges dealing with all the updates to maps, moving the International Date Line to 171 degrees longitude west of Greenwich.

Associated challenges

There are also other technical challenges as I called out last year… as this change again occurs at midnite, but this time with good reason…

Here’s my regular advice for governments: in support of these types of changes, we provide guidance and Microsoft’s Policy in Response to DST/TZ Requests. It’s important for countries and territories to work towards seamless transitions to new DST and time zones policies, providing ample advance notice (of a year or more) with published confirmation of planned changes.

In addition – and this is important – we suggest that entities considering moves to DST implement changes at the next clock tick after 01:59:59 rather than at 00:00:00. Making the change at midnight can impact daily scheduled system events that sometimes occur at 12:00 midnite, such as back ups, data pulls or other automated tasks.

But I imagine that in Samoa’s case with this change, it would have been a greater challenge to have December 30th last only a few hours. Noting the article cites “there were 767 births and 43 marriages registered” on December 30th, I sympathize for the loss of a special day.

What’s Microsoft doing about this change?

Microsoft is aware of the upcoming change in time zone and shift in date for Samoa, and we’re looking at ways to minimize the impact this change has on our customers and partners. As with other changes to daylight saving time and time zones (like the impending change in Russia noted here), this will require an update to the OS. Most applications and services reference the underlying Windows OS for their TZ and DST rules, with some exceptions. This change in Samoa has the potential for worldwide impacts on time references for multinational customers. Updates will be important not only for users in Samoa but for connected systems around the world, particularly Samoa’s closest partners in the region. Further information will be shared here and reported on our official Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Centre at http://www.microsoft.com/time as status updates are available.

 

Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, RSS, DST, Samoa

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