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Last week when most of Europe made the "fall back" switch on October, 31, a bug in the iOS resulted in alarms going off an hour late. iPhones automatically made the clock switch but didn't change the alarm setting. Apple has acknowledged the issue, releasing a Knowledge Base article noting that in some regions, shortly before or after the daylight saving time (DST) change, repeating alarms created in the Clock app may work incorrectly. Products affected include the iPod touch (4th generation), iPod touch (3rd generation), iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPod touch (2nd generation). Apple says to resolve this behavior for existing alarms, users in areas affected should set the repeat interval to Never, and will therefore be obliged to reset the alarms for each day you need them. After November 7th, 2010, alarms can be set to repeat again. For more information, visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3542
Beginning in 2007, most U.S. states and Canadian provinces expanded the Daylight Saving Time (DST) interval by three weeks, to begin in mid-March and run to the first Sunday in November, which was a nice bonus for nighthawks like myself who prefer DST, but did cause some disruption with machines programmed to automatically conform to the old DST change dates.
On the Mac, the DST rule changes for the United States and most of Canada are supported in operating systems from Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later.
Apple also issued software updates for Mac OS X 10.3.9 and later, and early builds of OS X 10.4 to accommodate the changes. If you're still running an older version of the Mac OS, or live in a location that doesn't follow the mainsteam time rules, you'll likely have to enter the time change manually. For example Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands use standard time year round, with the exception that the Navajo Nation observes DST throughout its entire territory, including the portion that lies in Arizona, and the Hopi Nation, sticks with Standard Time all year, as does the province of Sashatchewan, Canada, which has a strong agricultural tradition.
If you're still using Mac OS X 10.2.8 or earlier, you can adjust your clock manually using Date & Time preferences. Deselect the option to set date and time automatically, then set the time for your local time zone as needed.
Mac OS Classic holdouts still running Mac OS 9.2 can use the Date and Time control panel to deselect the option to observe Daylight Saving Time changes automatically, then set the time manually. Applications that run in the Classic environment of Mac OS X 10.4 and earlier will automatically honor the Daylight Saving Time setting in Mac OS X.
Older versions of the Java environment may require an additional update for compatibility with the time zone and DST changes described above. For Mac OS X 10.4 and Mac OS X Server 10.4, install Java for Mac OS X 10.4, Release 5 or later. For Mac OS X 10.3 and Mac OS X Server 10.3, install Java for Mac OS X 10.3, Update 5.
The nonprofit Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA) has released Spring Ahead & Fall Back ( http://go.idea.org/SpringAhead ), an app. that enables users to discover when and where people around the world observe Daylight Saving Time (DST) and Summer Time, and when users should switch their clocks.
According to Product Manager Michael Douma, the app also includes a wealth of information about DST. "It's a miniature museum exhibit in a pint-sized app," he says.
Using the app, users twirl a 3D globe, zoom in with a pinch, and tap on a country, or they can type in a country name and be transported to that location and learn whether or not that country observes Daylight Saving Time, and if so, what date and time it will start or end during any given year. The app runs on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, and costs $1.99 in the U.S., with comparable prices worldwide.
iPhone users can also set calendar alerts for a given country, choosing from among the next time change only, the changes this year, or the next decade of time changes, and remind other iOS users to spring ahead or fall back, thanks to the app's full integration with email, Facebook, and Twitter.
"The 3D globe is a fun and intuitive way to choose different countries, and illustrates why Daylight Saving tends to be observed in temperate and polar regions, but not in the tropics," says IDEA's Douma. "In addition to must-have information about places, dates, and times, users can explore the rationale behind Daylight Saving Time, its history, and its unintended consequences."
The educational content in the app is adapted from a popular exhibit in IDEA's WebExhibits.org online museum about Daylight Saving Time:
http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/
Direct link to the iTunes app store:
http://go.idea.org/sa-itunes
As I noted above, I'm a Daylight Saving Time fan, and would prefer adoption of DST year-round. I'm not an early riser, and am rarely up and about prior to sunrise anyway, so daylight coming later in the morning is not an issue for me, but I surely to appreciate that extra hour of light in the late afternoon. DST is also a net energy saver. Reportedly, DST cuts overall energy consumption in the U.S. by one percent each day (tghe equivalent in energy of 10,000 barrels of oil each day) during the months it's in effect, and cuts the number of traffic injuries, with the Department of Transportation estimating 50 lives saved, 2,000 injuries prevented, and $28 million saved in traffic accident costs each year thanks to the DST, and because people arrive home from work and school and complete more errands and chores in daylight, Daylight Saving Time also seems to reduce the incidence of certain crimes, criminal activity being more common in hours of darkness than in daylight. A downside is that more traffic accidents do occur during the week immediately following the Spring time change than during the other weeks of the year, but it's a temporary spike. Statistically, Daylight Saving Time saves energy for lighting in all seasons of the year except during the four darkest months of winter (November, December, January and February) when the afternoon advantage is offset by the need for lighting because of late sunrise, and I suppose that creates a logical rationale for the twice-yearly time change.
Incidentally, it's It is Daylight Saving (singular) Time, NOT Daylight SavingS Time. What's being saved is daylight, so it is singular and not plural.
Love it or hate it, don't forget to "fall back", and at least the extra hour's sleep is welcome.
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