THOMPSON

[inspic=29,left,,0]This Sunday, March 11 2007 at 1:59am begins Daylight Saving Time (DST)!
Unfortunately, this years arrival of DST may have mild affects on your computer. Unless certain updates are applied, the time zone settings for your computer’s clock may be incorrect during the new extended four weeks of DST.

Attention PC user:

• New computers running Windows Vista are not affected.
• All computers running the most recent version of Windows XP – Service Pack 2 (and have “Automatic Update” turned on) will have already received Microsoft’s ‘daylight-saving patch’ and are updated and protected.
• Computers with “Automatic Update” turned off should download the patch from Microsoft.
• Computers not running Windows XP – Service Pack 2 should make sure that the automatic DST is turned off in the control panel. The clock will have to be manually adjusted when needed.

Very Important!
If you’re using a desktop-based calendar program (ie: Microsoft Outlook) to store your appointments, you will need to download and install patches to correct appointment times. However, appointments entered before a patch is applied may still be off by an hour.
Microsoft advises heavy calendar users to download a small program called Time Zone Move that will adjust all previously booked appointments to the new daylight-saving rules.
Microsoft also suggests using caution with regards to scheduled meetings between March 11 and April 1!

Attention Mac users:

• Computers running Mac OS X 10.4.5 (released February, 2006) are not affected.
• Computers running Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4 should run Software Update to get the latest fix. Apple recommends that you should install the updates even if your computer is used in a time zone that is not affected.
• Computers running Mac OS X 10.2.8 or earlier should turn off automatic DST and adjust your clock manually using Date & Time preferences.
• Applications that run in Classic mode will abide by the Daylight Saving Time setting in Mac OS X.

If you’re not sure if your computer is updated, or just need assistance applying the latest DST patches, call or email me and I’ll be happy to help.

[inspic=19,left,,0]Firefox 2.0 was officially released to the public on October 24. If you’ve been using Firefox as your bowser you already know how cool it is. If Firefox is new to you, you’ll be happy to know it’s one of the best, most stable web browsers around and this new release makes it even more secure.

Firefox 2.0 now sports new crisp, clean graphics for easy and eye pleasing browser navigation. It also has some new tab features. The older version had only one place to close tabs located to the far right of the browser window at tab level. The new version has the tab closer located on each tab (similar to Safari). In addition, you can now use the new left and right tabs to horizontally scroll through your open tabs. There is also a new vertical scrolling tab located to the far right of the tab locations. This may not seem like a very exciting new feature, but it does make it easier to manage your tabs. There is even a new feature that lets you recover recently closed tabs. This is very useful if you’ve ever closed a tab by mistake or if something caused Firefox to close and lose any open tabs.

Firefox 2.0 features new anti-phishing protection as well. This feature is meant to protect users against fake sites that try to trick users into entering their personal information (passwords, bank accounts, etc.) on a site that looks legitimate.

Unlike the latest release of Internet Explorer 7, Firefox can be used by Mac, Linux and Windows systems. As usual, the Firefox 2.0 upgrade for me was exceedingly fast and painless. If you haven’t done so already, you can link from here to upgrade your Firefox. There are also plenty of add-ons to extend and customize this slim browser.

A worm known as Leap-A, also known as Oompa-A, is the first known to be capable of infecting Mac OS X. It was first reported in a MacRumors.com forum on Feb. 13th. It spreads through the iChat instant messaging system by forwarding itself as a file called latestpics.tgz to contacts on the infected users’ buddy list. When launched, it can damage software applications and the operating system. OSX/Leap-A (or OSX/Oomp-A) is not particularly menacing and is classified by most as non-threatening. Apple has yet to comment. Check out these other links for more info:

• MacRumors
• Sophos
• Symantec
• Ambrosiasw
• McAfee