[nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag

[qubit]

You know, I am of the opinion that if possible, and especially if a blind 
person has a job, that that person should try to purchase adaptive equipment 
him/herself rather than ask someone else to do it -- that is unless it is 
something like a $10000 braille display, but even then, that is less than a 
sighted person would spend on a car, and therefore assuming you are working, 
it shouldn't be impossible to buy.  And if you do buy it, you are free to 
move to another state and take it with you.  If the state buys it, it is 
actually their property.
I agree wholeheartedly that the price tag for adaptive equipment is 
ridiculous.  But consider the expenses that most people have who are 
sighted -- they might have some other less apparent disability, or they may 
be supporting a large family plus some relatives, or they may just be normal 
persons who drive inexpensive cars because the luxury ones are too pricy.
A braille display doesn't require gas and costs less than even a used car.
Anyway, my latest "car" was the Book Sense.  It is pretty expensive for a 
glorified mp3 player, but it does what I need and is accessible.  In a 
perfect world everything would be accessible, but who ever heard of a 
perfect world?
I'm going to get a lot of use out of this little gizmo.
Anyway, I hope I don't ruffle too many feathers.  Even when I was a "poor 
student" I still bought my own cctv's.  This was before the ADA -- I didn't 
want a prospective employer to think they'd have to pay $3000 upfront for me 
to work for them. So I came with all the equipment I needed.  If the 
government and the employers are friendlier now and willing to buy 
equipment, that is great, but there is something to be said for 
independence, when you can get it.
I do think the knfb reader was priced a little high to start with.  I bought 
it after it was out a year, and it was still over $2000 (if I remember 
correctly).  Since then it has come down to a cell phone app that runs on 
many phones and the software is sold separate from the phone.  I think the 
price should come down.  For one thing, there is competition in the market 
now.    And the knfb reader (I discovered one day) surprisingly doesn't 
distinguish case -- so if you snap a picture of a password, it can't tell 
you if the letters are capitalized.  I have been lobbying for this but have 
met with strong resistance from the developers.  But that's just my personal 
pet peeve.
But if you want to join my bandwagon we can all lobby for a less expensive 
product that distinguishes upper and lowercase letters.

Happy lobbying.
--le

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 5:19 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag


Joe:

You're crazy! (grin)

Mike

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com>
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Date: Tuesday, Feb 2, 2010 21:24:32
Subject: [nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag

>
>
> Dear list,
>
> I'm continuously appalled at the price tags associated with adaptive
> technology.  While you're in college you might receive assistance from 
> your
> rehab agency to purchase equipment.  You may get some assistance after you
> find a job, but inevitably there comes a point when the expense comes
> directly from your own pocket.  I wonder how many people have had to 
> settle
> for outdated technology because they simply cannot afford it.  But, that's
> the thing.  I'm only assuming there are tons of people who cannot afford
> this technology.  I'd like to lead a campaign to call public attention to
> this monopoly, and, I'd like to hear your thoughts on whether or not you
> think me crazy.  If my assumption is wrong, I'll keep my views to myself.
> If there is a high number of people unable to tap into emerging software
> simply because they cannot pay for it, I'd like to hear from you.  I
> understand the technology itself costs a lot of money to develop.  Yet, it
> seems more of the price boost is owed to extravagant government contracts
> that allow the few players to charge something like $6,200 for a device
> that, despite its best advertisements, does not perform completely on par
> with its mainstream counterparts.
>
> At this time I have only a vague idea for a strategy.  Yet it's something
> I'm willing to build up if the need can be clearly identified.
>
> Looking forward to your input,
>
> Joe Orozco
>
> "A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the
> crowddd0-comMax Lucado
>
>
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