9.6 Date and Time

Your PC's conception of what time it is can be very important. Every file you create or save is stamped with this time, and every email you send or receive is marked with it. When you drag a document into a folder that contains a different draft of the same thing, Windows warns that you're about to replace an older version with a newer one (or vice versa) ”but only if your clock is set correctly.

NOTE

Double-clicking the time in the taskbar notification area (or right-clicking the time and then selecting Properties from the shortcut menu) also displays the Date and Time Properties dialog box. Upon first examination, only two of the three tabs show up: the Date & Time and the Time Zone tabs. If you let the dialog box remain open on the desktop for a few seconds longer, however, the Internet Time tab will mysteriously make its appearance in the dialog box. ("Sorry I'm late. Did I miss anything?")

This program offers three different tabs:

• Date & Time . To set the date, choose the month and year from the drop-down lists, and then click the correct calendar day square. To set the time, see Figure 9-5.

  Figure 9-5. To specify the current time, don't bother dragging the hands of the clock ”they're just for decoration. Instead, click numbers in the time box, and then change it by typing numbers , pressing the up or down arrow keys on your keyboard, or by clicking the tiny up or down arrow buttons . To jump to the next number for setting, press the Tab key.

  

• Time Zone . This tab presents a world map ”one that might tempt you to click to indicate your location on the planet. This display, too, is just for decoration; use the drop-down list above it to specify your time zone.

• Internet Time . By "Internet Time," Microsoft isn't referring to the recent, fanciful notion of a single, global timekeeping system (in which each day is divided into 1,000 equal time units). Instead, this tab lets you teach your PC to set its own clock by consulting a highly accurate scientific clock on the Internet. To activate this feature, turn on "Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server," choose one of the time server Web sites listed in the Server drop-down list, make sure you're online, and then click the Update Now button. (No need to worry about Daylight Savings Time, either, as the time servers take that into account.)

NOTE

Your PC will set its clock again once a week ” if it's connected to the Internet at the time. If not, it will give up until the following week. If you have a dial-up modem, in other words, you might consider connecting to the Internet every now and then, and then using the Update Now button to compensate for all the times your PC unsuccessfully tried to set its own clock.