GET READY FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME CHANGE
Daylight Saving Time will now begin three weeks earlier (on March 11) and end one week later (Nov. 4) in most of the United States. Systems and applications that process dates and times will be affected by this change, including Positouch systems.



The Daylight Saving Time (DST) was extended by four weeks courtesy of the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, passed by the congres in July, 2005. The new law that takes effect this year allows the Daylight Saving Time at 2:00 a.m. to be expanded, starting from the second Sunday in March and reverts to standard time on the first Sunday in November.

Reminiscent of the the Y2K situation, computers around the country will have to be adjusted to cope with the change. Mission-critical systems and applications, including Positouch, could exhibit some strange behavior. For example, your check files, as well as employee punches may be off by one hour for the three weeks in March and one week in November.

Apart from Positouch, other desktop applications can be impacted by the time change. Lots of applications are affected, perhaps most notably Outlook, Exchange Server, and of course the various desktop clients. Microsoft has set up the Daylight Saving Time Help and Support Center.

Of all Microsoft operating systems, only the recently-released Windows Vista was built to correctly self-adjust. All others will need to be either manually updated or adjusted. CC Productions is providing customers with an automated update and utility to update their Point of Sale systems. We recommend that customers apply this update immediately.

How to know if Daylight Saving Time is already adjusted
The easiest way to tell if a PC has been patched already is to view the drop-down list of available Time Zones and look for differences. If you go to the date and time settings through the system tray or the Control Panel, and select the Time Zone panel, you can look at the available time zones. If "(GMT -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada); Tijuana" is now split into two separate time zones listed as "(GMT -08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada)" and "(GMT -08:00) Tijuana, Baja California," you have received the update.

How to update the Daylight Saving Time settings
By now, you must be wondering, "so what do I do?" Here's what to do:

If your computer automatic update is running on your Windows XP or 2003 Server computer, you may have automatically updated via the Windows Update service and you do not need to do anything.

If you have turned off the Windows Update service on your computer you will have to install the update manually.

Click on one of the download links below to download and run the Windows XP Update.

If you are running Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 Small Business Server or Windows Server 2003 Standard and have Ineternet acccess, download and run the appropriate update, then reboot your computer:

Microsoft no longer supports Windows 95, 98, 98SE, NT 4.0, Me or 2000. Therefore they will not be releasing updates for these versions of Windows. If you have Windows 2000, Windows NT 4.0, have Internet access and have TCP/IP protocol enabled on your Positouch system, download the following patch to your desktop, and follow the instructions below the link.

From the Backoffice or Posdriver computer that has Internet connection, click on the following link: 

In the File Download dialog box, click Save or Save this program to disk.  Save the file to the Desktop.

On the Desktop, double click on TZSetup.exe.   Click Unzip and it will unzip to folder to the C:\Program Files\TZEdit folder. field.   Click Close.

Go to C:\Program Files\TZEdit folder, and double click TZEdit to start the time zone editor.

Now you can manually change the time for your time zone.

To manually modify time zone settings by using the Time Zone Editor, follow these steps:

1.	You have started the Zone Editor.
2.	In the Time Zones list, select a time zone, and then click Edit. For example, click (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US and Canada), and then click Edit.
3.	In the Edit Time Zone dialog box, click to select the Automatically set Daylight Saving Time check box.
4.	Specify the correct daylight saving time start date and end date. To do this, follow these steps: a. In the Start Day box, click the number of the day, the corresponding day of the week, and the month that you want. For example, click Second, click Sunday, and then click March. b. Select the time that you want to start daylight saving time. For example, select 2:00 A.M. c. In the Last Day box, click the number of the day, the corresponding day of the week, and the month that you want. For example, click First, click Sunday, and then click November. d. Select the time that you want to end daylight saving time. For example, select 2:00 A.M. e. In the Daylight Bias list, select how long you want the time to change when daylight saving time is in effect. For example, to set the clock forward 1 hour, leave the default setting of +1:00. f. Click OK. g. Select another time zone that has changed, and then repeat steps a-e. For more information about the time zones that have changed, if your time zone is different, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Repeat steps a through f for every time zone that has changed. When you have finished, click Close.

Reboot each terminal in the system.

The patch or update can be copied and applied to each computer, including terminals, depending on if they have Windows XP, Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0. Windows XP terminals and computers must use the update while Windows 2000 and Windows NT. 4.0 must use TZEdit.exe. For more information on updating older Windows systems, go to: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=914387

If your Positouch system does not meet any of the above requirements, or need additional assistance, please call support at (800) 507-5554 x1

Microsoft's DST Help center contains a trainload of detailed of information about applications and platforms (both supported and no longer supported), downloads and patches required, and procedures to follow. There's even more information in a Microsoft Knowledge Base article " How to configure daylight saving time for the United States in 2007," located at support.microsoft.com/kb/914387.

Frequently Asked Questions

What caused the need to change the Daylight Saving Time rules for our hardware and software products?

In the U.S., the Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed the rules for Daylight Saving Time (DST). These new rules will go into effect in March 2007. Canada and Bermuda made similar changes to their DST rules to be consistent with the U.S. time changes. DST rules affect date and time processing functions in computers and applications. If not set properly, the time could be incorrect by one hour for four weeks each year. Since DST rules have been relatively stable in these countries for many years, people have come to rely upon automated adjustments in time in connection with their information technology. In order to support the new DST schedule, updates to affected IBM hardware and software are being provided.

What are the new dates for the Daylight Saving Time schedule in the U.S., Canada and Bermuda?

Starting in 2007, Daylight Saving Time for the U.S., Canada and Bermuda will be extended by four weeks, starting three weeks earlier on the second Sunday in March and ending one week later on the first Sunday in November. In 2007, DST will start on Sunday, 11 March and will end on Sunday, 4 November.

Is this a Positouch-only issue?

No, Daylight Saving Time rules changes could affect any computers, applications and electronic devices that have built-in DST rules for date and time processing. This is not a vendor specific issue.

What is affected by the DST changes?

Computers and applications in the U.S., Canada and Bermuda with date and time processing functions will be affected.

How will I determine if I need to apply changes to my computers

If your computer uses Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, the correction may have already been applied via Windows updates. Check the time zones from the Date and Time Settings in the Control Panel and make sure it has two -8 Pacific time zones. If you have only one, you need the update. For Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0, there are no automatic updates available, and TZUpdate.exe must be manually applied.

Can the DST change be made by simply updating the system clock?

This is not recommended. If the former DST rules still are defined in your system, a simple change of the clock will not change the DST rules that are used in time and date calculations.

What will happen if I am not able to complete the DST changes on all of the computers and applications across my enterprise prior to 11 March 2007?

Computers and applications that use local time may be off by one hour for the three weeks in March and one week in November. For example, transaction receipts and other time-sensitive data may have incorrect times for the affected period.