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New updated page for coming Daylight Saving Time (DST) 2007 changes

As I noted here and here previously, the kick off for daylight saving time (DST) is changing this spring (2007). The start and end dates for the United States will transition to comply with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (a US gov’t web site link). In short, DST dates in the United States will start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November).


In general, computer systems should be updated to reflect the new DST rules. For most customers, this means applying software patches to select Microsoft products, including various releases of the Microsoft Windows servers and operating systems, Microsoft Office and other applications. In a few important cases, customers must take more considered action, as outlined on our newly renovated DST 2007 website. (http://www.microsoft.com/dst2007) This public page on the Microsoft.com site will be revised regularly to include new product updates, compatibility information and links to Knowledge Base articles.


At the office and at home, my machines that subscribe to Automatic Update (which is all of our Window XP machines at home) received the Windows update, and my Windows Vista machines was just updated, too. 


Many Microsoft applications derive date and time information from the system clock, which “reads” the date and time information from the underlying operating system that it resides, so the changes need only be made to that underlying system. So you may not need to update many applications on your PC – check with your vendor to see if an update is required. For Microsoft products, many updates will be released through a combination of channels including Knowledge Base articles, Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), and the Microsoft Download Center.


Want to find out the accurate time in the US? Go to http://www.time.gov/ and select your time zone.


Select a time zone



“This public service is cooperatively provided by the two time agencies of the United States: a Department of Commerce agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and its military counterpart, the U. S. Naval Observatory (USNO). Readings from the clocks of these agencies contribute to world time, called Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The time maintained by both agencies should never differ by more than 0.000 0001 seconds from UTC (see recent comparisons).”


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Of interest: Black eyed peas on New Year’s… or rotten herring?

My family in the South believe in eating black eyed peas on New Year’s day to bring luck for the new year. A good recipe for New Year’s Day Black-eyed Peas can be found here, ‘though this year I’ll be making Black-Eyed Pea and Ham Hock soup.


Better than the Swedish Surströmming my crazy and wonderful friends in Sweden introduced me to many years ago. Washed down with liberal amounts of Aqua Vit, of course.


Happy New Year!

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FYI: Xbox 360 extended warranties go into effect after the first year

I mentioned earlier that the Xbox 360 now has a one year warranty. I also read on the Xbox forums that there was a little confusion WRT how extended warranties purchased by customers would be recognized.


Well, I received a confirmation today from the Xbox team that, for customers who purchased an extended warranty on their Xbox 360, the warranty extension they purchased (the one- or two-year extension, I think) will take effect after the first year. So, my understanding is that customers who purchased a two-year extended warranty will now be covered for a total of three years from the date of purchase.


I believe that the Xbox team will make this more clear on the web site and the warranty pages in the near future. Hope this helps.


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Which is better for a new hard drive: speed or capacity?

Recently asked: “Which is better when buying a new hard drive for your computer: speed or capacity?”


For space intensive applications (audio and video recording, photos), my answer is a larger drive (better if it’s mirrored to a second drive). If you’re playing games or running a lot of local (on-disk) software, then speed. Many new large drives also offer high speeds, but at a price (often increased heat and lower life expectancy).


I would go for the third option, which is reliabilty.


There’s an interesting article on eWeek in “Do We Really Need Bigger Hard Disks?” by David Morgenstern (October 17, 2006) for more on why the latest is better…



“Often, the speakers continued the history lesson with a comparison of hard drive advances to those of some other invention, usually automotive.


“For example, in his “kickoff” speech, Seagate Technology Chief Technology Officer Mark Kryder said that if a 1956-vintage standard car had undergone the same rate of “progress” as a hard disk, “We ought to be squeezing 146,800 people into that automobile today; the price should have dropped to $15; and have a top speed of almost 1 million miles per hour.”


“Following the wave of such stories (including his own), Dan Frost of the San Francisco Chronicle blogged a clever response from a reader, which then made its way around a number of storage lists. Here’s bit of the post:


“If my car was like my hard drive, I would need to keep an exact copy of everything that I carry in the car because sooner or later the car is going to lock itself, and I will never get into it again. If I decide to go to the trouble of getting into the car, I will have to take it to a specialized mechanic who will probably charge as much as the car cost, with absolutely no guarantee of salvaging anything,” the reported author, Dave Hector, observed.


“His final shot was: “You get the idea. I love my car and I trust it. I love my computer, but I don’t ever, ever, ever trust it.”


In other words, back up often.

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Holiday Humour: Even Santa Claus shops retail sometimes

I ran into my local CompUSA to pick up some networking items for the holiday week, and who did I run into? None other than the jolly old elf himself, weaving up and down the video game aisles. I snapped this photo of Santa Claus picking up a few things for the good little boys and girls, shopping around for the best prices on holiday gifts. Either that or like many of us in our own homes, he’s also the North Pole’s IT support staff.


Santa shops retail, (c) M3 Sweatt 2006


Moments after the photo was taken, I turned to complete my own retail transaction… and when I turned back around, he was gone. In lieu of a chimney, I assume he used the ventilation shaft just above.


Happy Holidays.

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