I’m standing in the local Apple store, typing this entry on a MacBook. Next to me is a new “classic” iPod. The new iPods have a “clock” feature, where you can enter multiple locations, and it will display the time at each location, side-by-side.
This is a nifty feature, except for one problem: during Daylight Saving Time, it calculates the time at foreign locations incorrectly. For example, the two locations I entered were “California” and “Hong Kong”. During Standard Time, Hong Kong is 16 hours ahead of California, but during Daylight Saving Time, it is only 15 hours ahead. But while it is 6:08pm in California, the iPod is displaying 10:08am in Hong Kong. It is actually 9:08am in Hong Kong — 15 hours ahead.
The same error is made with locations within the United States that do not observe DST. For instance, it is currently 3:08pm in Honolulu, but the iPod displays it as 4:08pm.
The iPod and the Mac it’s connected to both seem to be configured to observe DST, so I’m pretty sure this isn’t a configuration issue. My conclusion is that this is a bug. A rather annoying and obvious bug that should have been caught before release.
BTW, I like the keyboard on this MacBook. I’m not typing double characters like I often do on other laptops.
Tags: Apple, bug, daylight saving time, gripe, iPod