Daylight Savings Time 2007

UMBC's (Oracle) Calendar page: http://calendar.umbc.edu

OIT applied Daylight Saving Time (DST) patches to the Oracle Calendar server on October 4, 2006 and patched the Web Calendar Service on October 4, 2006. We have tested the calendar service with a variety of clients and are pleased to report that most calendar users will not experience problems with meeting times during the extended DST period (3/11-4/1/07). However, meetings created using the Oracle Connector for Outlook or with the Web Calendar may appear at the wrong time under certain circumstances; see below for more information and recommendations.

Oracle Calendar Windows and Mac Clients

We have observed no issues with incorrect times for meetings created with the Oracle Calendar software for Windows or the Mac, regardless of whether the computer operating system was patched for the DST changes or not. While all Windows and Macintosh computer operating systems should be updated for the DST changes, these Oracle Calendar clients themselves do not require updates.

Web Calendar

On October 4, 2006, OIT patched the Oracle Web Calendar service for the new Daylight Savings Time rules. Meetings created prior to October 4, 2006 *using the web calendar and occurring 3/11-4/1/07* will display the wrong time and must be adjusted manually. Meetings created after October 4, 2006 will be displayed at the correct time.

Oracle Connector for Outlook (OCFO)

Outlook uses the local Windows time settings for the time zone information.  As a result, any meetings occurring 3/11-4/1/07 with the Oracle Connector for Outlook (OCFO) prior to installing the Windows DST patch may appear to be one hour off. These errors will not be evident until the meetings are viewed with a patched computer running  OCFO, with the native Oracle Calendar software or with the Web Calendar service. We encourage all OCFO users to confirm meeting times using the Web Calendar and make adjustments as necessary as recommended below.

Recommendations

To help resolve and avoid problems with meetings displaying at incorrect times, we strongly recommend that our Oracle calendar users take the following steps:

1. Put the scheduled meeting time in the titles of meetings occurring during the extended DST period (3/11-4/1/07). That way if the time shows incorrectly on your or others' calendars, your attendees will know the actual time of your meeting.
2. If you use Outlook and the Oracle Connector for Outlook, it is especially important that you put meeting times in the meeting titles for these 3 weeks. If in doubt, use the Web Calendar at http://calendar.umbc.edu to view or edit meetings.
3. If you use a PDA or Smartphone to synchronize with Oracle Calendar, be especially cautious of potential errors in meeting times. We recommend that you consult our "PDA & Mobile Device" page for guidance on DST solutions or check with your device vendor.

Contact our Help Desk with any questions or concerns that you may have.