Daylight-saving time will begin tomorrow
Hawaii residents' largest concerns for daylight-saving time this year will probably be remembering it will be an hour later starting tomorrow when calling most of the mainland and resetting electronic devices programmed for daylight-saving time.
Daylight-saving time, recognized in most of the country, begins three weeks earlier than in the past and ends a week later on Nov. 4, under a 2005 U.S. law that mandated the changes to save energy.
"The upcoming change probably won't affect anyone seriously," said James Kerr, president and CEO of SuperGeeks, a computer servicing company in Honolulu.
One benefit of the time change is that it could remind computer users that they should maintain the security of their computing system with updates provided by the software vendors online, Kerr said. Software vendors have released patches for the new changes online.
Computer users in Hawaii who set their computers to Hawaii Standard Time will not have to worry because third-party software, such as calendar programs, get their time from the computer's clock.
The issue becomes a problem with people using "legacy" systems such as Windows 98 or those with newer systems who have not been mindful of software updates, Kerr said.
For those people, they actually have bigger issues than the jump in time, such as spyware and virus attacks, Kerr said.
For Hawaiian Airlines there will be little or no impact, said spokesman Keoni Wagner. Airline operators are used to the annual time change, he said.
"Just a different point in the calendar," Wagner said. "It's kind of old hat."
Duke Gonzales, U.S. Postal Service spokesman, said post office employees in Hawaii are also used to making changes for daylight saving and shifting transportation schedules. There should be no concern at all for customers, he said.