[ntp:questions] Synchronizing NTP in WAN and LAN

David Woolley david at ex.djwhome.demon.co.uk.invalid
Mon May 26 09:00:00 UTC 2008


Uwe Klein wrote:
> David J Taylor wrote:
> 
>> Like many OSes, Windows uses UTC internally and translates it to the 
>> time zone specified by the user for display.  Start, Control Panel, 
>> Date and Time, Time Zone provides the user interface for this, and 
>> there are programs like TZedit which allow you to alter the registry 
>> settings controlling winter and summer local-to-UTC rules.
> 
> Where does this legend stem from ?

Windows.  Specifically Windows 3.x, 95, 98, ME, and 98SE. Also MS-DOS 
(these versions of Windows are really DOS extenders).  These are all 
basically single timezone systems.  Even NT (i.e. NT, 2000, 2003, XP, 
Vista) stores filesystem times in local time, at least for FAT and VFAT.
> 
> There seems to be a difference in what TZ the RTC reflects.
> ( At least the SuSE installer regularly ask if the RTC shows
> UTC or Local Time )

Windows continues to default to RTC = local time, partly for consistency 
and partly because they are optimised for ordinary people, who have 
problems with the concept of UTC, even in the UK.  (I failed to convince 
the managing committee of my block of flats that electromechanical solar 
time lighting control clocks were not supposed to be reset when the 
clocks changed!)




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