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Ask Slashdot: Could We Deal With the End of Time Zones?

Posted by timothy on from the gedankenexperiment dept.

First time accepted submitter hairyfish writes "Do we still need time zones? Time zones are a relic of the past, when different parts of the world were isolated, and 12 p.m. was whenever the sun was directly above your specific location. Now, in the Internet age, time is just an arbitrary number, and time zones are just unnecessary complexity. Why can't we scrap time zones altogether, and all just use UTC across the board? So here on the eastern seaboard of Australia, lunchtime will now be at 2 a.m., In New York it will be 4 p.m., and in Moscow it will be 8 a.m. There'll be some pain with the initial changeover, but from then on it's all good. Got a meeting with colleagues on the other side of the world? 4 a.m. means 4 a.m. for everyone. Got a flight landing at 3 p.m.? 3 p.m. now means 3 p.m. for everyone. For DST, you simply change your schedule rather than the clock (i.e. work and school starts an hour earlier during DST months). No confusion ever again. For someone whose work involves travel or communication across time zones, this is the best idea I've ever heard. So why aren't we doing it?"

6 of 990 comments (clear)

  1. "So why aren't we doing it?" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    In the U.S. it is because the Federal Government oversteps its bounds on everything, including telling us what the clock shall say.

    1. Re:"So why aren't we doing it?" by houstonbofh · · Score: 1, Funny

      Lucky bastard... It was a Rick Roll.

    2. Re:"So why aren't we doing it?" by NoMaster · · Score: 4, Funny

      So, what you're saying is that the U.S. government controls your clocks by beaming invisible rays into them?

      --
      What part of "a well regulated militia" do you not understand?
  2. Evpxebyyrq. Shpx lbh NP. by Pseudonym+Authority · · Score: 3, Funny
    Yes, the time should be available on the free market. The companies that make the best time metrics will prevail and all others will fail.

    telling us what the clock shall say

    I, too, find it completely ridiculous that they actually TOLD people what their clock shall say. I heard about this one guy who didn't listen, they killed him, last I heard. Fucking fascist with their standards. I am interested to here what great insights the good roman_mir has to say on the subject.

    Also,Qba'g guvax V qvqa'g frr jung lbh qvq gurer.

  3. Re:Is this even a real question? by Tumbleweed · · Score: 3, Funny

    It might be better to let the youngsters have Slashdot. :/

    I bet those were CmdTaco's real leaving words.

    "You damned kids can KEEP the lawn; I'm retiring to the Bahamas!"

  4. Re:Is this even a real question? by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 4, Funny

    Modem handshake noise is no longer widely recognised.

    *wipes tears from keyboard...*

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.