A Friendly Reminder
Fall is definitely in full swing here in Denver! With everything exciting going on, such as the Rockies going to the World Series and the ski resorts starting to open for another season, it is sometimes easy to forget other important, but not as exciting, happenings like Daylight Saving Time.
I am writing today to remind everything that the ‘fall back’ of the daylight saving time change this year is one week later than it was last year, as mandated by the Energy Savings Act of 2005. That means it will go into effect on November 4th. As far as your computer is concerned, certain Microsoft updates are applied to your computers, but it is possible that the time zone settings for your system clock may be incorrect during this week-long period. Please note that Microsoft has made additional Daylight Savings Time and time zone changes since those released in January 2007. For full information, including directions to Knowledge Base articles, recommended preparation, and general sequence of update actions, see the Microsoft Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst.
Provided that you apply the applicable Windows updates to all your computers, most software products are not directly affected by this change. However, those who use third-party integrations that affect your calendar scheduling (like Outlook, Palm and other mobile devices) should ensure that they apply any patches or updates made available by those third-party vendors and follow their recommendations for avoiding appointment inconsistencies. Also remember to keep your Server and all Workstation date/time settings in sync to ensure accuracy of system-generated items, including notifications. I would also like to recommend that you check all of your appointments during the adjustment periods to confirm that they are correctly scheduled.

It’s definitely easy to overlook these seemingly simple issues when it comes to working with software! A lot of people – particularly if they don’t consider themselves to be “technically-minded” – believe falsely that their systems and products are so fool-proof that they can be relied upon to work seamlessly together all the time. I think this is also a reason many small business owners believe they don’t need professional IT support for their systems, and they end up learning the hard way why having someone responsible for your technology (particularly when you don’t have an internal IT department!) is critical to achieving the highest levels of productivity and keeping things running smoothly and efficiently!