As the IT industry enters the last two days before daylight savings time, many solution providers are scrambling to help customers avert major impacts from computer hardware and software that have yet to be updated to reflect the U.S. government's change in the starting date for daylight savings time -- and they are directing much of their anger at Microsoft because of it. "Unlike Y2K, this is not a bust," said Marc Harrison, a professional engineer at Silicon East, a Manalapan, N.J.-based solution provider. Daylight savings time, or DST, traditionally started on the first Sunday in April, but starting this year it has been moved by the government to the second Sunday in March as an energy-saving measure.
Unfortunately, many computer systems and applications, which automatically update for DST based on the traditional timing, were not updated to reflect the new timing. Microsoft appears to be the main source of frustration because of the need to update the vast majority of its applications, with Windows Vista, Exchange Server 2007, and SharePoint Services 3.0 being the main exceptions. Rex Frank, CTO of Alvaka Networks, an Irvine, Calif.-based MSP, said that while DST is a serious issue, many customers were lulled into a false sense of security because of their Y2K experience.
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News source: CRN
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