Big Change

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Big Change on March 11. Know What It Is?

This is bound to take a lot of people in the United States by surprise. Starting in 2007, daylight-saving time begins on Sunday, March 11--not the first Sunday in April as has been the case for 20 years. When you weren't paying attention in August 2005, Congress changed the law to lengthen daylight-saving time by four weeks. Why? So we can save energy. And instead of going back to standard time the last Sunday in October, we'll now "fall back" on the first Sunday in November, which is Nov. 4.
Not everyone is thrilled with the change. The airlines in particular are perturbed, reports The Washington Post, as they are scrambling to make sure countless automated systems will change the time on the clocks at just the right moment. If those systems fail, your flight will be delayed. Banks also need to program their ATMs to change the time on March 11. Meanwhile, Barry Koling, spokesman for Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, told the Post, "I haven't heard about it."


Your computer (provided the software is fairly current) and cell phone should both update automatically since they get that information from the Internet and service providers' networks respectively. Still, Microsoft has already issued a warning for users of its older products, including Windows XP SP1 and Windows NT4, that the clocks will have to be updated manually.