Obama likely to be forced to surrender his BlackBerry

And no, he's not getting an iPhone.

President-elect Barack Obama is rarely seen in public without his BlackBerry smart phone, but that's likely to change when he sits down at his desk in the Oval Office come January. And, says the New York Times, he's dreading that moment.

The first e-President is likely to become significantly less connected come January 20 for a variety of reasons. Naturally security is a concern, lest Obama be tricked into clicking on the wrong ad. But the bigger issue is now a legal one: As President, Obama's written correspondence will be subject to the Presidential Records Act, which will all ultimately become part of the official record and subject to review by the public.

The upshot: As tech-savvy as the new prez may be, things will be locked down considerably once he takes office. It's almost hard to believe, but it looks like he won't even be allowed a computer on his desk, much less the ability to idly chat with old friends and supporters via email. It's said that it's unlikely he'll even be allowed to read email on the computer: Presumably his correspondence will be printed out to him and handed over as a hard copy. How's that for progress?

As well, there is no word on how Obama will communicate with former Nigerian princes, nor how he will claim the millions of dollars they have to offer.

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