[nabs-l] Price Tag Preliminary Conclusions

[Joe Orozco]

Dear all,

I've collected a decent sample of people's thoughts concerning the steep
prices of adaptive technology.  It is by no means conclusive but at least
provides a sense of where people stand on the issue across several
list-serves.

On the one hand there are people who agree that the prices associated with
adaptive technology are too high.  Mainstream products offer better capacity
and functionality at a fraction of those products sold by adaptive
developers.  Despite new releases, members of this camp have also pointed
out that the general functionality of these products have not changed.
People need this technology to be able to carry out their jobs in the
workplace and should not have to invest thousands of dollars to be able to
take advantage of this technology.

There is a second camp that believes the solution will be found in universal
design.  The blind population is a small niche market; therefore, we cannot
hold adaptive companies accountable for trying to make a profit.  The best
option is to convince mainstream developers to incorporate accessible
designs into their products so that the price of adaptive technology can
decrease.

The third and smallest camp argues that adaptive technology is expensive to
design but well worth the price.  People should be able to invest in their
own technology for maximum independence.  If sighted people can make large
investments in vehicles and other high-ticket expenses, so should the blind.

The only common factor that all three groups appear to agree upon is a
payment plan that would at least give consumers the ability to slowly pay
off the cost of adaptive products.

Only in a perfect world will we find a plan that satisfies everyone's
opinions.  Yet, for a campaign to do something as significant as to
encourage a change in sales tactics across several major companies, we need
to try to be as united in our resolve to make it work, and this is assuming
that a campaign is something people are interested in working hard to keep
alive.  I think we can bring about a satisfactory change in the status quo
that could keep consumers and companies on the same page.  I'm willing to
put my resources to work on the issue and only wonder if anyone else would
step forward to lend a hand.

If you're interested, please e-mail me at:

jsorozco at gmail.com

Let's see what we can do to help people that need technology get the
technology.   This is one area where people should not be left behind
because they could not afford to stay caught up.

Joe Orozco

"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the
crowd."--Max Lucado
 

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