[Trainer-talk] My Further Predictions about the GW Micro Window-eyes for Office announcement

[Andrews, David B (DEED)]

I have to disagree with your last prediction -- while we may see some changes at GW Micro, accessibility at Microsoft and other companies is about much more than blind persons -- which is all GW Micro knows.  

Dave



-----Original Message-----
From: Trainer-talk [mailto:trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David Goldfield
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 3:35 PM
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
Subject: [Trainer-talk] My Further Predictions about the GW Micro Window-eyes for Office announcement

     I have to confess that I've been doing a great deal of thinking about this latest announcement from GW Micro and Microsoft.  Of course, I'm pleased about this and I think it will produce great results for consumers, even though it will turn the industry on its head.  Like most of us in the field, I wanted to know the deeper picture, the why behind the what, and we certainly won't know very much of that, at least right now.  However, after listening to the majority of the recent press conference, I've been trying to connect the dots and I have a reasonable guess as to what we're going to be seeing in the next six to eight months.  At this point, I want to stress that my predictions are not, in any way, based on insider information or on second-hand rumors.  If I happen to be wrong, I don't want any organizations contacting me, accusing me of slander or starting rumors, as this is not my intent.  If I happen to be right, what I'm about to write is just a set of reasonable conclusions and nothing more.  I'm just a user of a.t. 
technology, coming up with what I think is a pretty good guess as to what may be happening behind the scenes, in much the same way that writers of mainstream tech magazines write analyses of product announcements in an attempt to predict future trends or other possibilities.
First, let's examine some intriguing comments made during the press conference.  A questioner asked several things: how does giving away the flagship product affect GW Micro, if GW Micro was getting something from Microsoft, as well as whether GW Micro might be steering toward being a nonprofit company.  The response was, and I'm paraphrasing, that these are good questions and we'll have a better indication of the answers in six months.  Dan Wehrich (sp) also implied that this partnership allowed GW Micro to do this.
During another response, Dan said that GW Micro doesn't make screen readers for phones but said that they would be open to other possibilities, or words to that effect.  Examining these responses, here's what I think is happening behind the scenes.
1.  GW Micro is indeed being paid by Microsoft.
2.  GW Micro is working on a new screen reader, a version of Window-eyes specifically designed for the Windows Phone operating system.
3.  JAWS is likely dominating the market when it comes to screen reader usage.  If my last statement is correct, GW Micro can now afford to give away their flagship product, if they indeed are being presented with a very comfortable financial cushion from one of the most stable and richest software giants on the planet.  This move places a rather bright spotlight on GW Micro, allowing their user base to grow at a much larger rate without having them become bankrupt in the process. They'll also be able to make up for some of the losses by offering support and extra synthesizers.

4.  Window-eyes for Windows Phone will be released in six to eight months.  It will either be free or extremely affordable, but likely it will cost users nothing.  If there is a cost, Microsoft may set up a system, allowing blind consumers to buy specific phones for them, in exchange for a free copy of Window-eyes for their phone.

5.  As I've indicated in a previous message, Freedom Scientific will attempt to compete but won't do it in precisely the same way, as I think they will resist giving the full JAWS package away at no cost.  They will either produce a lighter, stripped-down version for free or for a reduced cost or they will implement a subscription service, allowing users to essentially rent the software on a monthly or annual basis.

My thoughts on this have nothing to do with whether I like JAWS less than Window-eyes or whether I prefer window-eyes over JAWS. However, I think this is a reasonable, if not likely scenario. David Andrews correctly summarized the state of Microsoft's accessibility initiatives in a previous message.  They're improving with Narrator and their accessibility helpline is getting rave reviews and high praise, but they're still struggling.  I believe that this partnership we're seeing is Microsoft's way of branching out, tapping into some additional resources to add even more accessibility into their products.  They certainly know that it's needed for windows Phone.  My final prediction is that we're going to see some major restructuring going on at GW Micro, perhaps something as radical as them becoming the official accessibility arm or hub of Microsoft.