White House team grapples with technology

WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama and his team have run into a technology block at the White House, which is outfitted with outdated equipment, officials said.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that the Obama team encountered at the White House a bevy of disconnected phone lines, obsolete computer software and security regulations forbidding outside e-mail accounts.

The newspaper said the Obama team, which ran a technology-savvy campaign, has been faced with a morass of security regulations, which bar private e-mail accounts and instant messaging.

"It is kind of like going from an Xbox to an Atari," Obama spokesman Bill Burton was quoted as saying.

David Almacy, who became White House Internet director in 2005, said he had a weeklong delay between his arrival at the White House and getting set up with a computer and a BlackBerry.

"The White House itself is an institution that transitions regardless of who the president is," he said. "The White House is not starting from scratch. Processes are already in place."