[nfbcs] NVDA product question

[Bryan Schulz]

Brian,

That's not completely true that vendors are not getting rich from the 
adaptive technology field especially when other vendors are forced to close 
or relocate when a specific vendor is favored!
Bryan Schulz


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brian Buhrow via nfbcs" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
To: "Steve Jacobson" <steve.jacobson at visi.com>; "NFB in Computer Science 
Mailing List" <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>; "Michael Forzano" 
<michaeldforzano at gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2014 12:45 AM
Subject: Re: [nfbcs] NVDA product question


> Hello.  Everyone who has been following or contributing to this thread
> on this list needs to read, multiple times, tim Connell's article in the
> November 2014 Braille Monitor, "What is the Cost of a Free Product?"
> In that article, he lays out the various funding models for all the
> access technology available today and lists the vices and virtues of each
> model.  He makes the point, in a few wores, that I've been trying to make,
> in a very clumsy fashion, for a number of years.  Free is not always 
> better.
> I'll add to his point that even more important is the fact that we as 
> blind
> consumers need to be aware of the cost of free products before we end up
> paying the ultimate price of freedom, i.e. with our jobs and, potentially,
> our independence.  I find Jaws to be just as frustrating as the next guy
> and I don't use it in my daily work.  However, I purchase it because it is
> there if I really need it and there may be a day, and there have been a
> few, when it did something I really needed.  Many blind professionals I
> know rely on Jaws every day and I would be very sad to see them lose their
> livelihoods because Freedom Scientivic could no longer afford to support
> their products.  Sure there are excesses in the market place and companies
> who've stocked their treasure chests with the gold of the poor who bought
> their products.  However, let's not let the exception make the rule.  Most
> folks working in the access technology arena are not becoming filthy rich
> off our baksand, even better for us, they are dedicated individuals who
> truly believe in helping us achieve independence through improved access 
> to
> technology and training.  As Tim points out, the philanthropic model, 
> which
> is how NVDA is funded, is a fragile beast and subject to the whims of the
> funders which, are, in turn, influenced by a wide array of factors
> including political considerations, share holder concerns and issues I
> can't even think of.  Contrary to Tim's essay, I'd argue that technologies
> like VoiceOver in Apple's iOS  and Talkback in Google's Android survive on
> the philanthropic model as well, all be it from one donor rather than 
> many.
> The point I want to make here is that while everyone is discussing the
> merrits of NVDA versus Jaws relative to their costs, remember that, as Tim
> points out, we probably don't truly know the cost of free yet. I pray that
> we will before we actually pay it!
>
> -thanks
> -Brian
>
>
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