Workstation date & time Introduction 11.. PPuurrppoossee Changing the workstation time is a simple matter, once you have understood how fancy _L_i_n_u_x is. Here is the story. _L_i_n_u_x use internally the GMT (Greenwich time). All operation are done this way. Files time stamp are stored this way. Displaying the time in "local time" is a user interface issue. This strategy allows meaningful data exchange over a wan (over the Internet for one). To show the time correctly, _L_i_n_u_x must be told about the time zone (How much hour difference between your place and GMT). 22.. SSeelleeccttiinngg aa zzoonnee The zone field allows you to select the zone/country code which reflect how the time is managed at your place. This selection also influence the deviation from normal time used in some country (winter time vs summer time). Type Ctrl-X to get an endless list of zone/country code. 33.. HHooww ttoo ssttoorree tthhee ddaattee iinn CCMMOOSS If your computer is used exclusively with _L_i_n_u_x, then select the universal format. If your computer is used with other operating system, don't select this option. The drawback of not selecting the option is that you will have to manually update the time few times a year (twice in many countries). No big deal... 44.. GGeett ddaattee ffrroomm sseerrvveerr You may specify here one or several server to probe to obtain the time. This will be done at boot time only though, whenever the network is configured. To get a more complete synchronization, you can either call /usr/sbin/netdate from root's crontab or use the xntp time server. This is not yet supported by _L_i_n_u_x_c_o_n_f, but not incompatible with it. 55.. SSppeeccttaaccuullaarr eeffffeecctt The screen-saver built-in in _L_i_n_u_x may surprise you. Be aware that the fact of advancing the time of your computer does not get un-notice by it. If you jump 15 minutes ahead, it sees it a 15 minutes without activity. The last time I saw the screen go black right after I hit "Enter" on a computer was with another so called _O_S designed to crash...