Lords baffled by new-fangled Office 2007

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 27 Nov 2008 at 10:21

Members of the House of Lords are having trouble opening Word 2007 documents - because they are "incompatible" with their current Office software.

The House of Lords Information Committee's annual report claims that the peers are having problems opening documents sent by colleagues in the civil service, who are running on Office 2007.

The report blames a "lack of compatibility between documents produced in Microsoft 2007 [sic] and the current system on the Parliamentary network," which is reported to be Office 2003.

The report goes on to claim that the problem "will be resolved in conjunction with Microsoft".

Perhaps instead of wasting time and money consulting Microsoft, their Lordships should ask the Parliamentary Information Communication and Technology team to download the free Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, which allows Office 2003 users to open and edit Office 2007's OOXML documents.

Yet, whilst the Lords are struggling with basic Office problems, they're leaping ahead with plans to embed videos on their websites.

Currently, MPs and peers are unable to use clips of their speeches and debates in Parliament, because it's banned under the terms of the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit Limited (PARBUL) licence.

However, the politicians are keen to find a way to use the footage on video-sharing sites, so they can embed it on their own websites. "A number of MPs have suggested that they should be allowed to place clips of their appearances in the Commons Chamber on video-sharing websites such as YouTube," the report states.

"Although, the issue was raised first in the Commons, we recognise that there may be a similar interest in the House of Lords."