GPS Time is designated as being coincident with UTC
(USNO) at the start date of January 6, 1980 (00 hours).
GPS Time does not count leap seconds, and therefore an
offset exists between UTC (USNO) and GPS Time (at this
date in April 2007: 14 seconds).
Unlike GPS, the GLONASS time scale is not continuous and
must be adjusted for periodic leap seconds. Leap seconds
are applied to all UTC time references as specified by
the International Earth Rotation and Reference System
Service (IERS). Leap seconds are used to keep UTC close
to mean solar time. Mean solar time, based on the spin of
the Earth on its axis, is not uniform and its rate is
gradually changing due to tidal friction and other
factors such as motions of the Earth's fluid core.
Basically, much in the same way that we all despise DST (or date differences between Julian/Gregorian calendars), a certain part of me wants to know, if we humans last on this planet long enough, that our descendants thousands of years from now won't look back and curse at us for being idiots and deviating from celestial time.
Unix/Linux computers don't, Windows computers don't, GPS doesn't:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System#Timek...