T 'n' T: Time Trials Keep Windows' Clock Ticking Gregg Keizer
Mon 7/22/02 -- Time ticks by, one second at a ... time. And Windows helps you track the time -- and the date, too -- when you put its built-in clock and calendar to work.
But like almost everything else in Windows, the clock can be tweaked, enhanced, or -- if you prefer -- dumped in the dustbin. This week's tips 'n' tricks watch the clock, and the calendar. On time? No problem.
Always on time. Windows XP includes a time synchronizer that uses the Internet to make sure your PC's clock (shown onscreen in the system tray at the right end of the taskbar) is always correct to the second. This auto-sync is enabled by default, but if it's been turned off, you can re-enable it by double-clicking the time in the system tray. Click the Internet Time tab and check the "Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server" box (time fetishists insist that the National Institute of Standards and Technology's time.nist.gov server is more accurate than the Microsoft server that precedes it on the pull-down menu). Click OK.
If you're using another edition of Windows, you can add this feature with a shareware or freeware utility. Among the choices are Sync-It with Atom (shareware, $10), SocketWatch (shareware, $10), and Warhead Atomic Time Synchronizer (freeware).
If you want to update your clock manually -- that's what I do, since my personal firewall, like many others, blocks Internet time synchronization -- visit the official U.S. government Web site. Overseas users can check out the correct time at the World Time Server.
Call up a calendar. Just made a lunch date for next Wednesday, but don't know what that date is? Double-click on the time in Windows' system tray and the Date & Time Properties dialog box pops up, complete with a calendar of the current month. You can use the arrow keys to scroll backward and forward by month, to check out past and future dates.
Show me the date! Windows' default clock displays the current time in the system tray, but not the date. To see today's date, place and hold the mouse cursor over the clock for a second or so. The date appears.
A more permanent solution for Win XP is to expand the Taskbar to two lines. Move the mouse to the edge of the Taskbar, wait until the cursor turns into a double-headed arrow, then pull up (or down, if the Taskbar's at the top of your screen). Release. The date now shows beneath the time.
Talking timepiece. Why bother looking at the clock when it'll tell you the time out loud? Windows can't do this on its own, so I've downloaded Speaking Clock Deluxe (shareware, $15), which says the time every 15 minutes on my machine (you can set the interval to whatever you want).
Trash the time. Clockwatchers love the onscreen time that Windows shows in the system tray, but some of us prefer to lead a more relaxed life. To get rid of the clock, just right-click a blank spot on the Taskbar, select Properties from the pop-up menu, and clear the checkmark from the "Show clock" box. Click OK.
