Tony The Technophobe

At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, where technology allowed his image to be presented on a large screen, British Prime Minister Tony Blair made a small confession to business and computing leaders: He was a technophobe, and has had a tough time catching up. The admission by Blair, who has turned into a champion of computer-led growth in Britain, came during a panel discussion with computer maker Michael Dell on helping societies cope with rapidly changing technology. Blair said he decided to take a computing class in his home district. He said the course, which he attended with retirees, young people and women returning to work, consisted of a series of tests on which he did “extremely badly.”