[nfbcs] Adaptive Technology and Your Pocketbook

[Lloyd Rasmussen]

Video Voice is one of the many DOS screen readers which fell by the wayside 
in the 1984-93 era.
And in the cab from Baltimore to DC Sunday night, I was telling one of our 
R&D Committee members about the Speaqualizer.  Do you remember when we 
agonized over the fate of the SSI-263 speech chip?  Sometimes it's scary to 
contemplate all the products that have disappeared from the market and are 
disappearing from the public consciousness, too.  Not to mention all the 
money that was urgently spent on them.

At 09:04 AM 2/5/2010, you wrote:
>Dave:
>
>Er, um, what's Video Voice?
>
>Mike
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Hyde, David W. (ESC)" <david.hyde at wcbvi.k12.wi.us>
>To: 'Ationfbnet NFBCS Mailing List' <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
>Date: Friday, Feb 5, 2010 5:55:15
>Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Adaptive Technology and Your Pocketbook
>
> >
> >
> > This is an issue in which, all of us who use adaptive tech have a 
> stake. As I said before, I too am interested in what we can do to make it 
> more affordable for me (enlightened self interest) and for others. In the 
> interest of developing a solution, or range of solutions, I think many of 
> us would appreciate an eye to the tone of the posts. It is a volatile 
> issue. I don't always agree With John, or with Joe. I hope we will all 
> stop short of making assumptions about, or casting aspersions upon what 
> or why any of us take a particular stance.
> >
> > For the best behaved member of the list, I just might have a free copy 
> of Outspoken, or for the PC users, Video Voice.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
> Behalf Of Joe Orozco
> > Sent: Thursday, February 04, 2010 7:19 PM
> > To: 'Ationfbnet NFBCS Mailing List'
> > Subject: Re: [nfbcs] Adaptive Technology and Your Pocketbook
> >
> > John,
> >
> > You're quite the little ray of sunshine, aren't you?
> >
> > Competition is not the answer, because as long as there is a small 
> group of players, neither one will blink and drop prices to get more 
> customers.  Why should a company drop prices if they can get away with 
> staying in the same general neighborhood as the others?  This is not 
> exactly a phenomenon limited to the blindness market.  It's simple enterprise.
> >
> > Freedom Scientific is not losing customers to Apple, because the PC is 
> still dominant.  People have certainly migrated to the Mac, and there are 
> benefits to purchasing a computer that comes talking out of the 
> box.  Yet, the average consumer will be hard pressed to learn a new 
> operating system for the sake of a built-in screen reader that is still 
> growing and whose overall platform is still inferior to the compatibility 
> of the PC.  I'm not bashing Apple.  On the contrary, I applaud their 
> work, but don't allow your own computer preferences to make you assume 
> your views are shared by the majority of consumers, blind or sighted.
> >
> > And, no, I think that while some people will move over to less 
> expensive options like NVDA, people ultimately know that the 
> accessibility of these choices does not rival the accessibility of JAWS 
> and Window Eyes.  Talk to David Andrews who pointed out that the 
> introduction of these products can actually hurt the adaptive industry.
> >
> > I'm not looking for a JAWS alternative.  I don't care for the price 
> associated with purchasing new upgrades, but for now it's what I have to 
> pay to get the accessibility I need.  Yet, you assume this is a 
> self-motivated campaign designed to air out my own grievances.  Believe 
> it or not, I care about people without the means to buy their own 
> technology.  In today's economy there's no telling when I find myself in 
> the same position to be unable to buy what I need to get by.
> >
> > It's not a matter of ethics when you compare the cost of a mainstream 
> product to the astronomical cost of an adaptive one.  I think this is the 
> strategy of an informed consumer.  Voting with my dollars will hardly put 
> a dent in what is already at least a $30 million sales operation in the 
> case of Freedom Scientific, according to public records, and that's only 
> an estimate.  WAFRA Partners only purchases companies that generate a 
> minimum revenue of $20 million.  That too is public record.  I could be 
> stupid and assume my refusing to pay $260 for a JAWS upgrade will make 
> them shake their heads and think, "wow, you know, maybe I should bring 
> down prices."
> > Seriously, don't be delusional.
> >
> > And, don't be a naysayer.  You have no idea how the campaign will evolve.
> > If people don't step up to the plate, it won't even happen, because 
> ultimately I am only interested in helping people who want to try to help 
> themselves.  You don't even know how the companies will respond, because 
> until there is reason to believe otherwise, we can only hope that what is 
> achieved is a true compromise that does not deprive companies of the 
> funds necessary to step up development and does not bar consumers from 
> taking advantage of all the technology.  What you do know is that 
> whatever benefits are achieved from our little group of diverse 
> professionals are also going to benefit you.  Don't sit there and throw 
> up objections to something good that could happen without your raising a 
> finger.
> >
> > Respectfully,
> >
> > Joe Orozco
>...

----------------------
Lloyd Rasmussen, Senior Project Engineer
National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
Work:  202-707-0535             www.loc.gov/nls
Home:  http://lras.home.sprynet.com
The preceding opinions are my own, and not necessarily those of the 
National Library Service, Library of Congress.