  So, I use Dreamweaver MX for my website design and editing. If you’re wondering, IMHO, Microsoft FrontPage sucks. One of the nice things about using Dreamweaver and the UW for my web hosting needs is that I can remotely connect the two. Which mean, when I am done editing a page on my computer, I hit a button and the page is uploaded to my account for the world to see. Similar to how blog software works (at least from the user’s end). But I’ve had problems getting Dreamweaver to talk to the UW servers.
Specifically, I was getting this FTP error: Cannot make connection to host. 530 Your clock or time zone is set incorrectly Huh? So I check my clock, which is set a little fast (at this point, 9 minutes faster then my cell phone’s time), because that’s how I like it, and of course, my computer’s time zone is set to Pacific Standard Time (Tijuana). This is when I shot an email to the help desk at UW’s Computing services. They got back to me lickity split and tell me to check the clock and time zone setting. I reply, telling them I have, and, by the way, I keep my clock fast.
So which they reply... Your computer's clock must be set within 5 minutes of "UW time" (e.g., the time shown on homer) to work with UW Kerberos [the proxy software] WTF? I reply: Alright, I’m blown away that my clock was the problem. I changed the time and suddenly it works. but why? Why does the clock need to be within 5 minutes of "UW time"?
And how do I check this time. Does the exact time really matter when something is posted to the web? Wouldn’t the servers simply know what time it is in Seattle, irrelevant to what time some other computer says it is? And what if I, as an alumni, move to Washington DC, and want to keep my UW account? Do I have to "pretend" I’m actually on the west coast just to sync Dreamweaver with the UW? Please, tell me why?
And they get back to me (this is all within 24 hours mind you)... Saying the clock needs to be within 5 minutes of "UW time" is a bit of an oversimplification. Your clock needs to be within 5 minutes of the correct time for kerberos to work. The UW's clocks are synchronized to atomic clocks which provide a reference time, so if your computer's clock is similarly synchronized to an atomic clock, it will always be within 5 minutes of the UW's. (In fact, it should always be within a few microseconds. ) I don't know that any desktop version of Windows has a time synchronization utility built in. I found an article about a few different pieces of software that will keep your computer's clock accurate at urlLink http://geodsoft.com/howto/timesync/wininstall.htm .
You can search the web yourself; the search terms I used to find that page were "windows ntp client". If you use a network time client on your computer, you can rely on your computer's clock being accurate. There's a lot more on how the Standard Time is calculated and kept in synch at urlLink http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/ , if you're interested. It's not so much that the time matters on the web as that Kerberos requires accurate time on the part of both sides (the server and you) in order to work. It's pretty technical, and has to do with security. The short answer is that Kerberos just doesn't work if the clocks of the computers involved are out of synch by too much.
Kerberos takes time zones into account, I believe. As long as your computer's clock is set to the correct time where you are and your computer's time zone is set to the time zone where you are, then everything should continue to work. Alright, so my question wasn’t really answered. I wanted to know why someone, at some point in time, chose to say that the computers clock had to be within 5 minutes of the atomically “correct” time. I thought it might have something to do with security, and that answer was alluded to, but not expounded upon. But, my curiosity had been somewhat alleviated but the length and depth of the reply, and I didn’t want to take anymore of their time (though maybe they have plenty of it, if they can send me such an extensive answers).
So I sent a brief thank you note. To which I receive this reply... One little addition to Josh's answer. If you are using Windows XP there is a built in network time client. You can set your have your time automatically updated by following these instructions: 1. Double click on the clock (or open up the date/time control panel) 2. Click on the "Internet Time" Tab 3.
Check "Automatically synchronize with an Internet time server" 4. Click "Update Now" I believe that once you turn this feature on it syncs your clock once a week. But I’m running Windows 2k, so until I upgrade my system and install Windows XP, which I'm hoping to do this summer, I just have to keep my clock inline on my own. 
