Barack Obama: White House technology '30 years behind'

[alp227]

Often compared to Star Trek's Dr Spock because of his super-calm demeanour, it appears the President of the United States indeed expected the Oval Office to resemble the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.

He told donors at a fund-raising event in his home town Chicago: "We can't get our phones to work."

Expressing his exasperation, he said: "Come on, guys. I'm the president of the United States! Where's the fancy buttons and stuff and the big screen comes up? It doesn't happen. I always thought I was going to have like really cool phones and stuff."

Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/8454647/Barack-Obama-White-House-technology-30-years-behind.html

[Turbineguy]

1. Then it will be too modern

for a teabagger President.

[SheilaT]

2. Obama is highly unusual

in both his youth and his connectedness to technology, especially as compared to many members of government who can't type, don't know how to use the internet, and so on.

[treestar]

3. It is kind of shocking

I'd have thought to they'd have state of the art everything there.

[Wilms]

4. Sorry, BO. Three wars and a tax cut for the rich don't allow such investments.

Like the rest of us, you're going to have to live within your means.

[Brigid]

9. You forgot this:

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. Dr,? nt

[SidDithers]

11. Maybe they were thinking of the guy who wrote the baby books...nt

Sid

[ClarkUSA]

6. Considering neither Clinton or Bush even knows how to send emails, this is not surprising.

Both Clinton and Bush are as clueless about tech as John McCain.

President Obama is truly a man of the 21st century stuck with a White House that served the needs of prior presidents, all of whom had a mid-20th century technology skill set.

[On the Road]

7. Hey, Bill Clinton Only Moved in 18 Years Ago!

In one of his first talks with the press, he complained about the same thing: "Where are the speaker phones? Where is the conference calling capability? But there are extension phones in other offices which anyone can pick up during a conversation. So I can get the conference call I don't want, but not the one I do want."

[Logical]

8. Acoustic modems? n-t

[Hippo_Tron]

10. They significantly upgraded the situation room and Air Force One in recent years

I guess not the Oval Office, though...

[whistler162]

12. Come on just because they want to borrow the

Autocoder manual I have doesn't mean it is out of date technology!

Also have a coding pamphlet for the Wang 2200 if they need to borrow it.

[Parker CA]

13. I'd bet much of this antiquated technology has to do with keeping information inside the WH. Doesn't

make sense that they'd be so far behind the curve unless it's intentional.

[Cobalt-60]

14. Its cheap leabor - hack technicians

Im sure they're got some barely qualified schnooks doing the job
for peanuts rather than experienced workers at good pay.
But alas corporate pigs don't respect human skill.

[Hawkowl]

15. White House IDEOLOGY is thirty years behind

Too many echoes of Reagan and trickle down economics. Too much wanton military spending.