[Trainer-talk] FW: GW Micro Announces Global Window-Eyes Initiative for users of Microsoft Office

Thu Jan 16 22:20:54 UTC 2014

FWIW, Freedom Scientific has not tended to acknowledge the existence of any
competition, except to occasionally sue them.  It will be interesting to see
what effect the presence of a new executive director and the presence of
Jonathan Mosen in the role of social media coordinator have on the response
to this industry change.

A concern I have is that the presence of all these free options can tend to
lead to less quality accessibility.  Nobody particularly lauds NVDA because
it is good and powerful; because it is not. It is essentially adequate and
not at all powerful, but it is free, hence people love it.  Now we have
Window-Eyes injected into the fray.  Its web browsing is not equal to that
of JAWS, nor even is its support for Word, but now it too will be free as
long as the system contains a paid copy of Office in a recent version.  So
the tendency will be to provide blind people to these free access solutions
and then say, somewhat truthfully, that access has been provided.  This
despite the fact that JAWS contains features these free programs, with their
small and often underpaid development staffs, do not and will not have.  I
hope Gw Micro is getting some money from Microsoft so that it can intensify
its development.  In the meantime, those in a position to influence
acquisition decisions for blind users will have to be aware of the
capabilities of all these products so that they can, if needed, distinguish
between what is free and what is effective for the particular user.

Dean

-----Original Message-----
From: Trainer-talk [mailto:trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
David Goldfield
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 11:33 AM
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
Subject: Re: [Trainer-talk] FW: GW Micro Announces Global Window-Eyes
Initiative for users of Microsoft Office

Here are my predictions on how Freedom Scientific is going to respond to 
GW Micro's latest announcement.  These are just predictions and not from 
any inside knowledge.
My prediction is that FS will eventually respond to this but they won't 
give the full JAWS version away for free, as GW Micro is doing with 
Window-eyes.  They will attempt to compete in one of two ways. I could 
see them offering a software subscription service, perhaps similar to 
Office 365, where you can rent JAWS on a monthly or annual basis for a 
reduced fee.  Alternatively, I could envision them offering either a 
free or inexpensive stripped-down version of JAWS, a JAWS Lite, which 
would include enough basic features for a suitable screen reader, 
lacking some of the more sophisticated features.  Many of you will 
remember they actually did that before with their cheaper Connect 
outLoud program, which quietly went away a while ago.

Bob Clark wrote:
> Good Morning:
>
> I don't know how anybody can be negative relative to the Microsoft/GW
> Micro announcement.  Considering that Apple has embedded considerable
> accessibility into their IOS and other other operating systems at no
> additional cost, Microsoft has just made a tactical business decision.
>   Now, the real question is: what is Freedom Scientific going to do to
> combat continual business degradation?
>
>            Bob Clark
>
> On 1/16/14, Denise Robinson <deniserob at gmail.com> wrote:
>> The narrator on windows 8 is vastly improved to the point where a blind
>> person can get on and not only set it up the way they want but use
features
>> on it very well....so they have come a million miles....many more to go
but
>> they are on the road now
>>
>> Denise M Robinson
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>>> On Jan 15, 2014, at 10:17 PM, "Michael D. Barber"
>>> <nfbiowa at qwestoffice.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> David:  I was completely shocked when this announcement appeared.
Whether
>>> this is a good thing for those of us who use screen reading software
>>> remains to be seen.  I'm curious about FS's reaction.  I imagine there
may
>>> have been an earth tremor in St. Petersburg.
>>>
>>> On the other hand, I don't have much trust for Microsoft regarding
>>> accessibility.  I'm willing to be proved wrong though.  But Microsoft
>>> hasn't done anything to even convince me to think about changing my
mind.
>>> Look at Windows Phone 8's lack of accessibility----again.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Cordially,
>>> Michael D. Barber
>>> (515) 771-8348
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Trainer-talk [mailto:trainer-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
>>> David Goldfield
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 15, 2014 6:29 PM
>>> To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
>>> Subject: Re: [Trainer-talk] FW: GW Micro Announces Global Window-Eyes
>>> Initiative for users of Microsoft Office
>>>
>>> Here is a modified copy of the message which I wrote on some LinkedIn
>>> forums, which summarizes my feelings about this development.
>>> Here are my thoughts on this breaking story.  In no way am I trying to
>>> start a screen reader flame war, where I intend to talk about whether
one
>>> screen reader is better than another.
>>> First, this news caught me totally by surprise and I was quite
speechless,
>>> which is ironic considering that this is all about a piece of software
>>> designed to make your computer talk.
>>> This move from GW Micro is more than just a great idea or a clever
>>> marketing strategy.  In my opinion, it represents the end of an era and
>>> the beginning of a new one regarding the business model of screen reader
>>> distribution.  I've said for some time that our current model, where you
>>> pay hundreds of dollars for computer access, needs to go away.  With
this
>>> decision, I predict that it soon will.  Yes, we've had NVDA offering
users
>>> the same opportunity to download and use a completely free screen reader
>>> since 2009, unofficially since 2006.  However, until recently, it wasn't
>>> an ideal solution for many corporate environments, although it does
>>> actually contain scripting capabilities, allowing for some
under-the-hood
>>> customization.  However, it really wasn't promoted as an access solution
>>> for the corporate world and it is likely that the majority of NVDA users
>>> are home users.  However, this is not the case for window-eyes, which GW
>>> Micro promotes not only for home use but also for use in corporate,
>>> educational and in government working environments.
>>> Now that Window-eyes can be available at no cost for many more people,
>>> several questions come to mind.  First, how will Freedom Scientific
>>> respond?  They cannot ignore what GW Micro is doing, as doing so could
>>> hurt sales of JAWS rather badly.  This move won't just make Window-eyes
>>> freely available to many users who couldn't afford a commercial screen
>>> reader.  Once rehab agencies begin to hear about this, they may feel
that
>>> forking out nearly a thousand dollars for JAWS won't be such a hot idea.
>>> After all, why buy a JAWS license for a consumer if they can just ensure
>>> that some version of Office is on their computer, which will then allow
>>> the consumer to download a comparable screen reader at no cost.
>>> FS must respond to this move, if they hope to survive.  The same is true
>>> for Dolphin's HAL screen reader.
>>> One might also wonder how GW Micro can make money off of this move. In
>>> other words, how will they survive this change, as well?  This is being
>>> addressed in several ways.  First, users of the free window-eyes program
>>> must pay to receive support, either by paying $25.00 per incident or
>>> $99.00 for what they call the 12/12 plan, which gives you twelve
incidents
>>> to be resolved for a 12-month period of time.  The one exception is that
>>> they will provide free support for users who need help with installation
>>> issues.  This is how some open-source products are able to make money;
>>> give the product away for free but charge for quality support and other
>>> additional services, such as advanced software customization.  The free
>>> version also does not come with some of the more human-sounding voices,
>>> such as Nuance's Vocalizer, which can be purchased for a fee.  However,
I
>>> am of the understanding that it supports the Microsoft voices, which can
>>> be very pleasant, particularly with the male voice found in Windows 8
and
>>> 8.1.
>>> During the press conference held by GW Micro, someone asked how giving
>>> away their flagship product would affect GW Micro.  The questioner asked
>>> if they were getting something from Microsoft, which to me implied a
>>> monetary payment of some kind, or might this represent a shift to GW
Micro
>>> heading toward being a nonprofit company.  GW's vice-president said that
>>> these were good questions and that they would be able to better know the
>>> answers in six months.  He also said that their partnership with
Microsoft
>>> allowed them to do this.  That, in itself, is a telling response.  Here
>>> are my predictions.  First, this is going to shake up the industry and
>>> will bring about some major changes in the way access software is
>>> distributed.  Finally, I would bet a few pieces of rich chocolate that
>>> this isn't the last we're going to hear about this from GW Micro.  If
they
>>> don't become a nonprofit access provider, I would not be at all
surprised
>>> if they are either bought by Microsoft or at least become the official
>>> accessibility arm of Microsoft, which is something Microsoft could
really
>>> use.  Trust me, this is assistive tech history in the making.  This is a
>>> major earthquake in the field, and we've not even begun to see how the
>>> aftershocks affect the industry.  I applaud GW Micro for what I think is
a
>>> daring and revolutionary decision.
>>>
>>>
>>>> On 1/15/2014 10:16 AM, Angela Griffith wrote:
>>>> Jan-14-2014
>>>>
>>>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>>>>
>>>> Fort Wayne, Indiana (January 14, 2014) - GW Micro, Inc.
(www.gwmicro.com)
>>>> is proud to make a revolutionary announcement. GW Micro and Microsoft
>>>> Corp. have partnered to make Window-Eyes available to users of
Microsoft
>>>> Office at no cost. Window-Eyes is a screen reader that enables people
who
>>>> are blind, visually impaired, or print disabled to have full access to
>>>> Windows PCs and makes the computer accessible via speech and/or
Braille.
>>>>
>>>> To better deliver Window-Eyes to the people who need it most, GW Micro
>>>> and Microsoft have collaborated on this global initiative, available in
>>>> over 15 languages, to enable anyone using Microsoft Office 2010 or
later
>>>> to also use Window-Eyes for free.  Access to technology is critical to
>>>> people who are blind or visually impaired in order to have the same
>>>> opportunity to compete in the workplace. As such, this initiative
between
>>>> GW Micro and Microsoft has the potential to reduce barriers for
millions
>>>> of people who are blind or visually impaired around the world.
>>>>
>>>> As the population ages, technologies like Window-Eyes will become more
>>>> and more important as the number of people with age-related macular
>>>> degeneration and other retinal degenerative diseases increases. "This
>>>> significant change in the way we are doing business reflects the
changing
>>>> perception of accessibility and also technology in general.  Rather
than
>>>> wait for the world to change, Microsoft and GW Micro are leading the
>>>> way," said Dan Weirich, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for GW
>>>> Micro.  Weirich believes this technology can help millions of people
gain
>>>> access to their PC, and that providing it free of charge will open a
>>>> whole new world of assistive technology to many people.
>>>>
>>>> In light of the rapidly changing face of technology and specifically,
the
>>>> changing face of assistive technology, the combined efforts of GW Micro
>>>> and Microsoft have the goal of providing accessibility to people who
are
>>>> blind and visually impaired for the long term.
>>>>
>>>> Microsoft continues to take accessibility seriously.  "By partnering
with
>>>> GW Micro in this endeavor we are demonstrating Microsoft's ongoing
>>>> commitment to provide all of our customers with the technology and
tools
>>>> to help each person be productive in both their work and personal
lives."
>>>> said Rob Sinclair, Chief Accessibility Officer for Microsoft.
>>>>
>>>> Eligible customers, using Microsoft Office 2010 or higher, will be able
>>>> to download a full version of Window-Eyes starting today at
>>>> www.WindowEyesForOffice.com.  The website provides download
instructions
>>>> as well as additional details about this offer.
>>>>
>>>> GW Micro, Inc. (www.gwmicro.com) has been a trusted pioneer in the
>>>> adaptive technology industry since 1990, and continues to lead with
>>>> innovative, customer driven solutions.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Contact:
>>>>
>>>> Dan Weirich, VP of Sales and Marketing dan at gwmicro.com
>>>> (260) 489-3671
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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