[nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag

[David Andrews]

On the face of it what you say is true -- however, there are 
substantial ongoing costs for JAWS and others.  To keep up with 
operating systems, applications, and new features takes a whole team 
of developers, testers etc.  Freedom Scientific, and other companies 
provide ongoing free support which requires a bunch of people, phone 
lines etc. too.  Many of the arguments against high prices 
oversimplify the real situation.

Dave

At 05:09 PM 2/3/2010, you wrote:
>hi,
>
>other than solving version conflicts and updating scripts, jaws has 
>operated the same for at least 15 years but it is still about 1,200 
>and 200 every two years to have the priviledge of getting updates.
>don't use the common defense of low users vs software cost but when 
>you buy the office suite, you are not forced to pay for updates 
>unless you want to upgrade.
>in the era of being able to buy a talking watch for $25, it's a 
>royal rip to have to pay 1,500 for a cell phone/gps or why prices of 
>devices with refreshable braille won't decrease and the companies 
>won't even allow payment plans because state agencies will say bill 
>me without even blinking.
>
>Bryan Schulz
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" <jheim at math.wisc.edu>
>To: "NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, February 03, 2010 10:29 AM
>Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag
>
>
>>I've often wondered about the issues you bring up.  About a year 
>>ago I remember seeing an announcement for a GPS system that was 
>>supposedly a price breakthrough. The price? $850. For just a talking GPS.
>>
>>So I understand your frustration. But how can you be sure the 
>>prices for adaptive equipment are inflated? I think you have to 
>>have more than vague suspicions before formally making a charge 
>>like that. In fact, doing so might do more harm than good. People 
>>might demand that government agencies stop buying  adaptive 
>>equipment if they suspect that the equipment their tax dollars are 
>>paying for is over priced. Rather than lowering the price for 
>>adaptive equipment, the result might be that government agencies 
>>just stop buying it.
>>
>>A new Pac Mate with a 40 cell display costs about $5600. That seems 
>>like an incredible amount of money for a product that doesn't even 
>>have built in wireless, right? But if the Pac Mate is so over 
>>priced, why doesn't one of Freedom Scientific's competitors come 
>>out with a product that blows it out of the water for price/performance?
>>
>>Another data point is the KNFB Reader. The NFB itself came out with 
>>the KNFB Reader. But at a base price of $1600, its not exactly a 
>>breakthrough product in terms of price. I doubt that the NFB is 
>>part of a conspiracy to keep prices high.
>>
>>We've been over and over the issue of the cost of the Pac Mate on 
>>thepacmateger.com email list. And I have come to the conclusion 
>>that it just costs that much. You can put together the hardware for 
>>a lot less and install a free screen reader. But if you figure in 
>>the cost of jaws vs nvda and the cost of support (and you have to 
>>give Freedom Scientific credit for providing great support), $5600 
>>doesn't seem far out of line. Honestly, I am no fan of Freedom 
>>Scientific. I think their licensing policies are draconian and I am 
>>fed up with their tendency to sue their competitors. But when I 
>>really think about it, I have to admit that the Pac Mate isn't that 
>>much over priced.
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Orozco" <jsorozco at gmail.com>
>>To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'" 
>><nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
>>Cc: "'Discussion list for NABS,National Alliance of Blind 
>>Students.'" <nabs at acb.org>; <tabs_students at googlegroups.com>; 
>>"'NFBnet NFBCS Mailing List'" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>>Sent: Tuesday, February 02, 2010 10:45 PM
>>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