Back in December, Microsoft issued instructions for updating Windows Mobile clocks to support a change in daylight saving time which comes several weeks earlier this year than in the past. But those instructions were really meant for hardware makers, and we expected PDA manufacturers to issue updates on their own. That never really happened.

Last month, an enterprising individual put together an unofficial installer file for consumer use. But I was holding out hope that Dell would issue an official update for my Axim X50v.

Looks like that ain't going to happen, because Microsoft finally went and released an official update. There's a PC-based installer file, as well as a cab file for users who don't sync their PDA to a PC. Of course, most PDA users will probably miss this critical update and spend the next year or two lamenting that they have to adjust their Windows Mobile clocks a few times a year as if they were old fashioned VCRs until they eventually upgrade their PDA. Hopefully this sort of confusion will be solved with Windows Mobile 6.0, which will include a Windows Update program that will automatically check for critical operating system updates.