[Blindmath] Spss 16 nightmare

[vincent]

Hello:
I am taking a quantitative research methods and Engineering Psychology class
this semester and both are requiring me to use SPSS version 16 to calculate
results.  I have done everything imaginable to make SPSS talk enough for me
to use, but to no avail.  I have installed the old scripts and the Java
access bridge.  It speaks somewhat, but not enough to truly function.  The
disability services office took my advice and is going to provide me a
reader to read the screen for me, so I can at least complete my homework.  

Does anyone know if the statistical package "R: can do the same things that
SPSS will do?  Also, will it read a .sav Spss file or will I have to try and
export the data from the spss file.  
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, because I just don't have the
time to do all the research this weekend myself.  I have to spend time
catching up in my JAVA programming class.  Of curse the compiler the school
is using was written in JAVA and does not speak enough to use.  I have moved
on to Eclipse and am happily coding away.



"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, you'll be a
Man, my son!"

Rudyard Kipling