Frequently Asked Questions

How will the new dates for Daylight Savings Time affect my mobile device?

In August, 2005, the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Policy Act, which changes the start and end dates of Daylight Saving Time (DST) in 2007 and subsequent years. DST will now start three weeks earlier (2:00 A.M. on the second Sunday in March) and will end one week later (2:00 A.M. on the first Sunday in November). As a result, mobile computers configured to update their own clocks to and from DST will be affected.

Scope of DST Changes

The DST legislation affects the U.S. only however Canada has elected to match the U.S. DST date changes. Mexico will not change their DST dates to match the U.S., however some time zones are currently defined in Windows for parts of the U.S. and Mexico together, e.g., “(GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada); Tijuana”. Therefore, three new time zones are created to allow each country to use their own DST definitions.

How will the new
Daylight Savings Time
affect your mobile devices?

Microsoft Articles Online

A more detailed explanation of the DST date change law is located at the following URL. This article also discusses Microsoft’s plans to push updates to affected desktop operating systems via their Windows Update function.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/timezone/dst2007.mspx

The following articles outline the impact of the DST date change on individual mobile computer operating systems.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923953 (Windows Mobile)
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923027 (Windows CE)

How to update your Mobile Device (Windows Website)

Also, if you are running ANY mobile OS please check with the manufacturer or your service provider. Below are links to three of the most popular service providers.

• Verizon Wireless
• Cingular
• Sprint/Nextel

Recommended Practices

The easiest and most efficient way to address the DST date change in mobile computers is to let the synchronization server handle it wherever possible. The majority of mobile computer products communicate regularly with a server that handles maintenance of the mobile computer’s date and time functions. In these cases, the mobile computer’s time will only be out of synch after the DST time change occurs until the next time it communicates with the server.

Contact Barcoding Inc. for specific information on your hardware devices

Related Topics:

• Barcoding GPS Technology
• Mobile Computers
• Mobile Printers
• Mobile Software

For more information, please contact Barcoding Inc.

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