Monday, March 5, 2007 - Think your computer is ready for an early start to Daylight Saving Time?  Chances are, it isn't.

"I'm not sure," said El Pasoan Sandy Cole.  "I just assume that it would switch over by itself.  It usually does."  Fabian Herrera echoed Sandy's concern.  "I think it should be," Fabian said.  "I'll have to check (my computer) when I get home."

Fact is most high tech devices are pre-programmed to spring forward in April.  But with Daylight Saving Time coming three weeks early, "anything that is tied to a calendar or clock or schedule could be fouled up," said Phillip Bond, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Information Technology Association.

If you live or die by your Blackberry, or Microsoft Outlook controls your appointment schedule, you need to take steps to make sure that you're not an hour late for things come Monday, March 12.

Any computer made in the last two years is ready for the switch.  If you subscribe to automatic updates from Apple or Microsoft, you're also good to go.  But if your computer's operating system is running something older than Windows XP or Apple's Mac OS 10.3, you have two options.

One, you can download a daylight saving time patch from www.microsoft.com/dst2007 or www.apple.com/support/downloads. Or two, when you turn on your computer Sunday morning you can go to your system's control panel, find the time and date function, and manually update the time.  If you're running Windows, make sure you uncheck the "automatically update for Daylight Saving Time" box before you click "apply".

For your cell phone, the time should automatically change when you power up on Sunday.  If you normally leave your phone on, turn it off then turn it back on.  In rare cases you may have to go into "Settings" on your phone and follow the prompts to manually change the time.  Same thing for your Blackberry, Treo or other PDA.