[nfbcs] Independence with a Price Tag

Sun Feb 7 22:36:17 UTC 2010

There program isn't as sophisticated as JAWS or Window-Eyes, so there 
isn't as much to support.  They also have relatively few users, by 
comparison, the others have been around a long time, so have lots of 
collected users.

Dave

At 04:13 PM 2/7/2010, you wrote:
>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
>
>
>
>
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