Daylight saving: Watch the clock

Microsoft has made the business of daylight saving just a little more confusing this year. Daylight saving ends on 6 April for most states this year, but the clocks in a range of Microsoft products won’t automatically get onboard.

A technical glitch means that users of Microsoft products in New South Wales, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania and South Australia may find their PC clock out of sync with real time.

Microsoft yesterday issued an advisory note to users of popular programs such as Windows and Outlook that they will need to an install an update that resolves the problem.

A statement from Microsoft Australia said: “The updates are only required for systems which are used in NSW, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania and South Australia time zones.”

Microsoft has urged customers in other states to take onboard the changes when communicating with the affected time zones.

Businesspeople should play close attention to the time on their desktops, emails, PDAs and mobile phones. While the Microsoft snag is no cause for Y2K-like panic, it may lead to a missed meeting or flight.

The states of New South Wales, Victoria, ACT, Tasmania and South Australia have synchronised and extended their daylight savings regimes as of this year.

Readers in these states are reminded that clocks will be pushed back one hour on Sunday 6 April 2008, a week later than usual. Daylight savings begins again on the first Sunday in October, three weeks earlier than last year.