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Filed under: OS Updates, Windows Mobile, Microsoft, Mobile Minute

Have you checked the clock on your Windows Mobile phone this week?

Windows Mobile clockThis year Daylight Saving Time went screwy. Or to put it another way, Daylight Saving Time goes into effect this weekend. If this were 2006, it would have happened last weekend. You can thank Congress for the change.

All of this might seem like mere trivia if it weren't for the fact that older PDAs, cellphones, VCRs, and pretty much any other device that's programmed to automatically adjust for Daylight Saving Time is now wrong. Microsoft issued an update for Windows Mobile devices earlier this year, but we're figuring there's a good chance you just forgot about it and reset your clock when you noticed it was off by an hour this week.

But if you want to make sure your mobile device adjusts properly this weekend and again next Spring, it might be time to download that update.

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft

SANS reports Windows 2000, 2003, XP Daylight Savings Time issues

Internet security watchdogs at the SANS Institute Internet Storm Center are reporting two unrelated issues with the DST changeover on Windows platforms.

The first issue incolves isolated problems where clocks display incorrect times despite being patched for the new US Daylight Savings Time rules. Apparently the problem affects certain systems that were patched using directions from Microsoft the TZEdit.exe application or manual edits to the Registry. A patch is available from Microsoft here.

The second involves certain applications that rely on the TZ environment variable. a patch for that is available here.

Filed under: Utilities, Windows Mobile, Microsoft

Microsoft patches its Windows Mobile Daylight Saving Time patch

Windows Mobile clockWindows Mobile clockWindows Mobile clockMicrosoft has issued yet another Daylight Saving Time update for Windows Mobile devices. This patch should fix a problem with the patch released last week.

So let's review. First, Microsoft posted instructions for manufacturers to develop their own DST fixes. Then some enterprising power users decided to make their own updates rather than wait for their PDA manufacturers to do so. Next, Microsoft finally puts out an official update, but it appears to have a major bug in it that could wreak havoc on your appointments for a few weeks.

And now there's a real, honest to goodness, official update that you can (probably) trust, less than a week before Daylight Saving Time begins. Whew.

Anyway, if you haven't updated your Windows Mobile device yet, now's probably as good a time as any. Remember to follow Microsoft's instructions on this one. There's a few bits that aren't intuitive. For example, you have to change your time zone and then switch back to your current time zone before the update takes effect.

[Thanks Gregger!]

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Unix

Daylight saving time change: What your PC needs to know

Daylight saving time signed a change-of-address form, packing up its old home on the first weekend in April for the pre-spring locale of the second Sunday in March. With modern operating systems adjusting the time automagically, the shift to an earlier DST means your computer needs to be (or may already have been) informed of the change.

For users of Vista, updates have already been applied to compensate for the change. XP systems with automatic updates turned on should be OK as well but, if you're still using Windows ME, 98 or 95 you'll need to manually update your clock (and then manually re-adjust when the OS changes your time for you on the old date). Oddly, Microsoft's own advisory on the DST change makes no mention of Windows 2000, or Microsoft server environments.

For Mac users, Apple's auto update system should have taken care of things already. If you're paranoid (like me) and want to check things for yourself, Mac OSX Hints has published a great guide on making the changes required for the new date which, given OSX's Unix underpinnings, is also valid for Linux users. Taking a few minutes now to make sure you're all set for the switch will save you any embarrassing moments come March 11.

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So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do. Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game. The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...

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