Ask Tech Reporter
Go ahead! You know you want to see your pseudonym in print! Send your questions here, for quick, anonymous answers.

Dear Tech:
Windows Vista has been out a short while. What do you think of it? I am looking for a reason to upgrade.
Signed,
Fell4DaHype

Dear Fell,

There are a few things we agree on when it comes to Vista. Vista is beautiful to look at. Aero induced giggles of glee. There are no serious bugs so far. In theory, with a fast machine and lots of RAM, after you find the new and improved locations for all the old functions, things will be better than they are with XP. For one, there are more options for tuning the system and various background features (such as the documents directory indexer).

Our only complaint so far is minor and it has to do with the many messages, notices, updates and warnings about being really sure we want to do this or that and that. Even the administrator account doesn’t have full rights without a little bit of gymnastics.

As of today, we stand by our recommendation that you do not upgrade to Vista but that instead you by a PC preloaded with Vista. This is a much less expensive and quicker approach.

The upgrade path is full of pitfalls, such as cost (we only recommend the Business or Ultimate versions but these are pricy at $299 and $399 each respectively). There are also video hardware compatibility issues with Aero and RAM requirements are 2 Gig for a smooth implementation. Lastly, the length of time required to actually perform an upgrade is in the 4 hour range so far in our experience.

What you need to know
The New Daylight Saving Time

Way back in August 2005 the US Congress passed another Energy Policy Act. Daylight Saving Time will now begin one month earlier in 2007 and will continue for an extra week in the fall. It is part of a phased move designed to conserve electricity and save an estimated 300,000 barrels of oil a year. This law is scheduled to go into effect in 2007 giving us 2 years to prepare. Here are the changes:

Turns out it was good that we had two years to prepare since the software patches from the major software manufacturers have only been released in the last few weeks. What does this mean to you? Not too much if you know what to expect:

If they haven’t done so already, expect your IT support staff to load the patches to prevent your PC from automatically switching to and from EDT on the old dates in the next few days. This update can be done locally or remotely but expect it to take roughly 15 to 45 minutes per PC depending on what other (optional or required) maintenance work will get piggybacked onto the visit. If you would like us to load the patches for you, please let us know.

On Monday, March 12th, if you use Windows XP or older, check to make sure that your PC clock is correct. The PC time is often displayed in the bottom right corner of your screen. If the time is wrong, correct it or let your IT staff know.

We cannot predict if the patches will have any glitches however, we do know that their may be an issue with existing recurring events scheduled in Outlook. These meetings may be shifted by one hour. If this happens to your meeting, delete the meeting and recreate it at the correct time.

It is possible that other glitches could occur, however, the impact should be small especially if we know what time it really is when working with our PCs on 3/12
Don’t forget to check the time on your PDA’s, Smartphones and other electronics. Simply reset the clocks as needed.

Certainly, if you have any questions contact: info@ositechnologies.com. We would be happy to help.

OSI Fun: Daylight Savings Time Fun Facts
In the beginning: Benjamin Franklin is credited with first proposing the idea of Daylight Saving Time in 1784. He hoped to save on candles. The United States didn't get around to even agreeing on what Standard Time was until 1883, when the railroads clamored for some uniformity. Daylight Saving Time as we now know it was signed into law in with the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Before that act, someone traveling a 35-mile stretch of Highway 2 in West Virginia and Ohio would have had to change a watch setting SEVEN times to remain current.

Why Two in the Morning? In the U.S., 2 a.m. was originally chosen for clock changing time because most people were asleep at that hour, whether they lived on either coast, or somewhere in between. It was also the time the fewest trains were running. Today it gives computer help desks enough time to reset sensitive systems, but it's still early enough for the entire continental U.S. to switch by daybreak. By not occurring at midnight, it prevents the scenario of today changing ever so briefly back to yesterday.

Trick or Treat! The extra hour of light is likely to make Halloween safer starting in 2007. Children's pedestrian deaths are four times higher on Oct. 31 than on any other night of the year.

Amtrak Delays When the clocks fall back at 2 a.m. this Sunday, Amtrak trains running on time will have to wait in the station for one hour before resuming their journey. Springtime overnight travelers find their trains suddenly one hour late, but their engineers just keep going and try to make up the time.