Changes in Daylight Saving Time

Happy New Year! I was just recently looking at the list of optional updates at Microsoft Windows Update, and noticed a couple patches for Daylight Saving Time (DST). Curious, I clicked on one to find out more. It was then that I realized that the period when DST is in effect will be different starting in 2007. The new rules are:

DST will begin at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and Standard Time will resume at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.

That means that in 2007, these dates are March 11, 2007 and November 4, 2007. Note that DST (known as "summer time" in some places) actually begins in the last couple weeks of winter! So much for the expression "spring forward."

But, what is really starting to concern me now is the clocks in my VCRs? They are supposed to automatically adjust the time on the first Sunday of April and again on the last Sunday in October. By contrast computers, telephones, and radio-controlled clocks (also erroneously called atomic clocks) all have software that should automatically adjust to the new DST rules. However, as far as I can tell, VCRs (made prior to 2005) are hardwired to adjust their clocks according the old rules, and VCRs don't have upgradeable firmware to update this change.

I even have a bunch of physical (paper) calendars that say DST will begin on April 1, 2007, and end on October 28, 2007. (These are the incorrect dates, by the way.) I refer to these as defective calendars, as they will tell you the wrong dates for DST. Do I foresee hoards of lawyers salivating over the prospect of a massive class action lawsuit against electronics manufacturers and calendar makers over "defective DST" products? This is like the Y2K problem all over again...

PF Stock