Axios You are right about utc the problem comes in when your dual booting windows
but there is a reg fix for windows for that.
Dead right. The situation is simple:
(1) Linux defaults to UTC/GMT, that is, Linux assumes that the RTC set to the GMT and adjusts accordingly to the time zone the user selects by setting the system time to GMT +/- (in my case, living in the Center US time zone, GMT-6).
(2) Unless the user is dual booting with Windows, there is no reason to go through hoops to force Linux to do what it already does by default.
(3) Unlike Linux, Windows defaults to local time, that is, Windows assumes that the RTC is set to whatever the local time zone might be, and makes no +/- adjustments.
(4) For that reason, if the user is dual booting with Windows, Windows and Linux will show different times (in my case, switching from Solus to Windows sets the Windows system time +6 hours) when the user switches back and forth unless the user overrides the default settings in one or the other.
(5) In that case, the user can manually adjust the system time when switching back and forth (as I do), or the user can adjust either Linux or Windows to set the system clock differently. As you note, that can be done in either Windows or Linux. A half dozen websites give instructions for doing either. Most Linux users who dual boot use Linux as the primary OS, so it makes sense for those users to make the change in Windows.
But, as somebody who dual boots on one of my computers, using Linux as the primary on that computer, this is a non-issue, easily fixed by either a 5-second manual reset or a permanent simple adjustment in Windows, as you say. It is certainly a non-issue when using Linux as the sole operating system. I confess that I have followed the machinations described in this thread with more than a little amazement.