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New DST KBs available: Egypt and Venezuela

New info is now available on Egyptian (in case you missed it, posted last month) and the really new KB for changes in Venezuela on the DST Hot Topics and Latest News page…

Egypt 2007 Daylight Saving changes: The government of Egypt has announced on August 23rd, 2007, a change in the observance of daylight saving time in the country stating that the time change will take place on September 7th at 1:00AM local time. Officially, the change occurs at 11:59:59 PM Local time (+3 hours EEST, 23:59:59) on September 6th, 2007, when clocks should be moved back to 11:00:00 PM (+2 hours EET) instead of to 12:00:00 AM. For more information, please see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 940427.

Venezuelan time zone changes: The government of Venezuela has announced a change to the time zone for the country. To date, Venezuela observed AST. The new time zone change will begin September 24, 2007, when clocks will move backwards 30 minutes, from UTC-4:00 GMT to UTC-4:30. This change begins at 11:59:59 PM local time on September 24. Clocks should be moved back to 11:30:00 PM rather than advancing to 12:00:00 AM (midnight.) For more information, please see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 938977.

Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, DST. 629,596; 907,942; 1,750,000+

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Update on DST changes in Venezuela: time goes back on September 24th

As I previously noted, Venezuela is changing their time zone. We were able to confirm that Venezuela time zone has been confirmed to GMT -4:30 as original planned.


We now hear from government sources that the new DST change will begin Sept 24 (next Sunday) when at midnight clocks will move backwards 30 minutes. This will be a ½ hour change, from UTC-4:00 GMT to UTC-4:30.


It appears that this is the creation of a new time zone (as noted http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/timezone.html?n=58): to date, Venezuela observed AST, and now is essentially cretaing their own TZ  as of September 24, 2007.


We don’t know yet if this is a permanent change or if this is a move to their new DST.


We will have more information on this change at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/dst_hottopics, and we expect to have a Windows OS hotfix for currently supported products available prior to the change.


Tags: Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, DST. 632,522; 951,689; 1,750,000+

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Upcoming Webcast for daylight saving time changes in 2007

From my friend, Beth, over on the Exchange Team blog… I will join the webcast as well…



I wanted to let you know that there is going to be a DST related Webcast this coming Friday. Event details:


Available on Friday, September 14th at 9am PT:


Preparing for Daylight Saving Time: This Webcast will provide an overview of information on Microsoft products and resources available to help businesses prepare for change to Daylight Saving Time.


https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/lmevents/join?id=msft091407sa&role=attend&pw=AGT732


To see future Webcasts related to this subject please keep checking our “Webcasts for daylight saving time changes in 2007” page which you can find here.


– Elizabeth Scott


























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News: Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta coming soon; new Windows Updates improvements available now

In case you hadn’t seen the posting on the Windows Vista Blog today, the team announced the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta as Nick writes…



“Now is the time and the time is now:  let’s talk about Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). … we’re in the process of developing and deploying a Beta version of SP1. 


“The Windows Update online service is one new way to deliver many OS improvements.  For example, yesterday in advance of SP1 we released via Windows Update two separate improvements to Windows Vista’s reliability and performance.  We did this prior to SP1 in lieu of requiring customers to wait for these fixes to be rolled into a single service pack. 


“[Vista] SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues we’ve identified via customer feedback, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards.  SP1 also makes additional improvements to the IT administration experience.  We didn’t design SP1 as a vehicle for releasing new features; however, some existing components do gain enhanced functionality in SP1. More information on what’s included in SP1 can be found in the detailed white paper.


“In the meantime, I’d encourage you to check out the Windows Vista SP1 white paper for more detail.” 


We should see the SP1 Beta released in the next couple of weeks to MSDN and TechNet subscribers as we expand beyond the current set of testers.


As noted in Keith Ward’s article today in Redmond Mag, customers will be able to obtain the service pack throughone of a couple of different methods, including…



  • “Express. Requires an Internet connection but minimizes the size of the download by sending only the changes needed for a specific computer (approximately 50 MB for x86-based operating systems).
  • Stand-alone. Recommended for computers with limited Internet connectivity and for applying the service pack to multiple computers. The download size is larger than the express package, but customers can apply a single package to any Windows Vista version and language combination (within a platform). Distribution tools like System Center Configuration Manager 2007 use stand-alone packages to deploy Windows Vista SP1.
  • Slipstream. The slipstream version of Windows Vista SP1 is media that already contains the service pack, which companies can use to deploy the operating system to new computers or to upgrade existing computers. Availability will be limited. Microsoft will update Windows Vista retail media with Windows Vista SP1 slipstream media in the future. Slipstream media will also be available to Volume Licensing customers.”

Tags: Windows Vista, Vista SP1, service pack 

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Old news: Free Retrofit for Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel

I missed this article last week.

We have an Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, and one that has taken a back seat to the of Dance Dance Revolution pad.

I learned from Gregg Keizer at Computerworld (and various news sites) that the Wheel should have a free retrofit applied. There’s an announcement on Xbox.com that notes that “a component in the Wheel chassis may in rare cases overheat and release smoke when the AC-DC power supply is used to energize the Wheel.”

Jeepers.

“Owners of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel should print out the retrofit form or call Microsoft at 1-800-4MY-XBOX to register to receive the retrofit and protect against the potential hazard described above. Instructions will be provided with the retrofit. We are notifying and will be coordinating our response activities with the relevant regulatory agencies such as the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This may impact delivery dates.”

Until you receive a retrofit for your Wheel, Xbox recommends that you run the wheel on batteries only.

Or just of Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero until it arrives.

Tags: Xbox 360, customer support.