'GMT Bug' in iOS 8 Calendar Syncing Causing Time Zone Confusion for Users

[C DM]

I think you are confused. The bug exists between Apple's calendar app and any Exchange server. That Google happens to use Exchange for calendar sync, doesn't mean the problem only exists between Google and Apple.

As I said, Google changed the settings on their Exchange server to work around the bug, but that doesn't fix the underlying bug, which is in Apple's code.

Are they using Exchange? Aren't they using CalDAV for some time now?

 

[csrorke]

For most practical purposes, GMT = UTC.

"GMT = UTC, but only in the winter."

This is simply wrong. See "What is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)?"

http://www.nist.gov/pml/div688/utcnist.cfm

There are differences between UTC and GMT, but they involve fractions of a second at most and have nothing to do with Daylight Summer/Savings Time.

UTC would be a far better choice for Apple to use, both the time standard and the moniker, as an underlying fundamental time in its Calender App. For one thing, it is more widely understood that UTC does not adjust for any form of Daylight Savings Time.

 

[nt5672]

This is simply wrong. See "What is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)?"

http://www.nist.gov/pml/div688/utcnist.cfm

There are differences between UTC and GMT, but they involve fractions of a second at most and have nothing to do with Daylight Summer/Savings Time.

UTC would be a far better choice for Apple to use, both the time standard and the moniker, as an underlying fundamental time in its Calender App. For one thing, it is more widely understood that UTC does not adjust for any form of Daylight Savings Time.

Almost. GMT is now a time zone (this was not always the case as your link points out). As a time zone, a country is free to determine if GMT is adjusted for Daylight Savings. For example, England is on GMT during the winter and BST during the summer. It is no longer proper to refer to GMT as a universal time, it is not. It is a time zone, with a normal offset of zero, subject to the same rules as any other time zone. At least that is what the rest of the world thinks.

UTC is NOT a time zone, it is a time standard. There is no difference in using GMT or using CST (Central Standard Time) in computers. A location switches between time zones when on daylight savings. Here in KC we switch between CST and CDT. In England, it is between GMT and BST. To refer to GMT as a universal time is simply wrong today.

 

[roadbloc]

Apple still trip up when it comes to clocks and calendars eh?

 

[doerrmann]

Apple still trip up when it comes to clocks and calendars eh?

Actually, the "GMT bug" as it was called affected Google and certain Exchange-based calendars and involved a transactional resetting of the user's observed time zone to GMT when syncing with an iOS calendar. The discussion around GMT versus UTC and what Apple uses is interesting, but doesn't really get to the point that the bug was caused by an Apple/Google/Microsoft interaction - somebody changed something and didn't tell anyone else.