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Hey, tonight's the night when you set your clocks forward an hour before you go to bed. Daylight Savings Time has arrived - and soon we'll get to enjoy spring, which begins on March 20. Finally, you can start shaking off the winter blahs.
You've probably already asked yourself why Daylight Savings Time seems earlier than usual. In 2005, Congress agreed to pass a law extending Daylight Savings Time by a month, which means that it might still be light out when people leave work. (Exceptions made for those who never leave their cubicles.)
There's nothing like a little more daylight, especially in colder cities like Boston. Unfortunately, the news didn't make computer types happy. They quickly rang the alarm about a "mini-Y2K." That's why your IT guys and gals are looking so sleepy and why they're asking you to download countless software patches. Trust them - otherwise, you'll enjoy more sun, but you won't know what time it is.
As for your personal computer, if you have Microsoft Vista and Outlook 2007, you'll be fine. If you're running Service Pack 2, you probably already received a patch as an update. If you are worried, you can take Microsoft's quiz and get advice on how to update your personal computer.
If you're a Mac user, then Apple has provided a helpful page describing what you'll need to do (if anything) depending on your operating system. In some cases, you'll need to reset the clock manually.
And, once you have that cleared up, you can leave the house and take advantage of the extra light!
Image of an adorable mushroom clock from modcloth.com.
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Congress passed a law extending Daylight Savings Time.
It's "saving," not "savings" time. Just like it's the Public Garden, not "Public Gardens."
I fail to understand why increasing daylight in the morning doesn't count and has to be shifted to the evening. Where I live in the northeast, it is already light when I leave the office at 6 p.m. What I want is light in the morning when I get up, but Congress has decreed otherwise. So now hundreds of millions of us have to turn the lights on in the morning so we can see to get ready for work and school. How does this save energy?