[nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag

[Ryan Mann]

Serotek provides technical support for their products, but their prices are a lot cheaper than Freedom Scientific's.  How do they do it?  They also have to keep up with Microsoft's latest operating systems.
 
On Feb 7, 2010, at 4:01 PM, David Andrews wrote:

> 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
> 
> 
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Ryan Mann
email: rmann0581 at gmail.com
phone:386-383-5175