DST changes

[Bowlie]

Thanks to Hans for the heads-up about the changes happening this weekend (well at least in <img src=/S/flags/Switzerland.gif border=0 alt=Switzerland width=18 height=18>) to our clocks.

I also know now is not the time to be suggesting enhancements to the lounge software, but if I could add one suggestion to the list - to be looked at when time permits, I would suggest that we loungers be able to choose our time zone, and have the lounge software look after it for us - or possibly a more simple solution - a DST button to be clicked +/-.

I only raise this, because I just noticed that I didn't switch my (Adjustable) time to DST last spring. <img src=/S/drop.gif border=0 alt=drop width=23 height=23>

[cbaldrey]

The timezone file for linux distributions isn't all that clean either!

[JohnGray]

Dear Mr Bowlie

If you'd seen the complexity of the tables involved in the NT4 (and subsequent) determination of times by country that Microsoft has put together, and the number of fixes that come out, you would think 23½ times before suggesting that the Lounge includes such an overhead!

Have a quick squint through <!mskb=914387>Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 914387<!/mskb>, for example!

[Bowlie]

Dear Mr. Badger,

I regret that the complexities of the tables involved with NT4 (whatever that is) are beyond my simple (Mac) mind. Please ignore my first suggestion - but what about my second. My new (all singing, all dancing) Sony Clock Radio has a DST button - if I push it once ipso facto, Bob's your uncle, I gain an hour - If i push it again - abracadabra, Bob's your maiden aunt, I lose an hour. Even Steve Jobs would be amazed by this.

Please excuse me for taking up valuable oxygen with my silly suggestions.

[jscher2000]

I think it would be possible using JavaScript to actually pop in the time zone offset at the click of a button. There apparently are some folks for whom the offset is not a whole hour; that will be a problem. For most of us, however, something like this should determine the current offset. You can paste it into the address bar and press Enter to try it out.

<code>java script:d=new Date;alert(-1*(d.getTimezoneOffset()/60));</code>

(By having it on the client side, determined by the user's browser, we bypass all the troubles with keeping lists on the server. On the other hand, it still requires manual intervention by the user.)

[JohnGray]

Dear Mr Bowlie

Provided that the user had correctly set up the time (would that be the normal-time time or Daylight Saving Time time, by the way?) in their Control Panel, then certainly a flip-flop button of the type you suggest and programmed by Jefferson (Javascript Wizard of this Parish) to add or subtract an hour would be a better solution for the client than having to work out "What time is it, Eccles?" for every country in the world!

But isn't there an even better way, namely for the Lounge to obtain the current time to which the local PC is set, and use this to time-stamp Lounge messages? (Or am I missing something?!)

[Leif]

I think you are missing something.

If you post a message at, say, 11:40 BST, and it is 06:40 in New York, a Lounger in New York wants to see it time stamped 06:40, not 11:40.

I think the best thing would be for Claude to monitor each Lounger as they come on line, give them a quick call, ask how the family is, what the weather is like, and enquire if they would like they profile updated to show the correct UTC offset and DST setting. <img src=/S/grin.gif border=0 alt=grin width=15 height=15>

[bigaldoc]

And he only has to do it twice each year, right - so it's not too big a deal... <img src=/S/evilgrin.gif border=0 alt=evilgrin width=15 height=15>

[Leif]

<img src=/S/whisper.gif border=0 alt=whisper width=29 height=17> I may have got it wrong, but Australia ahead of the UK? At least as far as current time is...

[HansV]

If each post is stamped with the local time of the one who posted it, threads would become very confusing:

26 October 07:30 Question from LoungerA in England
25 October 23:35 Reply from LoungerB in California
26 October 07:40 Follow-up question from LoungerA
26 October 16:45 Reply from LoungerC in Australia

There is a five minute interval between consecutive posts...

[HansV]

Sorry, that was a typo. Hopefully it's correct now.

[cbaldrey]

Here's a thought....

At the moment, the lounge lists the post time in the lounger's local time offset. If it is possible, why not change it so that the posts are displayed in only UTC. That would then take away the timezone / DST issue.

I've been wanting for years to simply do away with DST. I also think having timezone offsets is silly. I know that currently I set my clock to 07:00 EDT, which is 06:00 EST, or 11:00 UTC - 05:00. I am, and so are most other people, perfectly capable of setting my clocks to UTC, and working off that as the reference.

I deal regularly with a company 3 timezones west of my location, and their office hours are 09:00 - 17:00 PST. To find an acceptable time to call them, I must convert that time to my local (12:00 - 20:00 EST). Wouldn't it be easier to just know that my office hours are 13:00 - 21:00 UTC, and their's is 17:00 - 01:00 UTC?

[HansV]

On the one hand, it would be a straightforward and consistent way to list times, but I'm not so sure that a majority of Loungers would find it convenient.

[Leif]

Er, no?

<img src=/S/grin.gif border=0 alt=grin width=15 height=15>

Personally, I don't find it a great issue to change my offset, although a radio-button DST on/off button would be convenient, but I do prefer seeing all posts time-stamped in my local time - it makes it a lot easier to judge if a post is 10 minutes or 10 hours old, and thus if a Lounger is liable to still be around.

Considering a lot of Loungers omit to state where they are in the world means a lot of the time you don't know what their working hours a likely to be anyway.
And if you want all posts displayed in UTC, simply change the UTC offset in your profile to 0! <img src=/S/smile.gif border=0 alt=smile width=15 height=15>

[cbaldrey]

Duh! Now why didn't I think of that. Off to the control panel to set 0!

Thanks Leif!