New Linux PDA For Blind People

[W. Nick Dotson]

Most companies who've put speech into appliances for the mainstream market take it out because the novelty doesn't 
sell, and/or as in the case of the Sharp Voice Coach, sighted folks complain saying the voice is patronizing.

I don't think most companies are going to go to an Open Source model any time soon, except where they are forced to 
as in the People's Republic of MA.  (grin)

Nick


Nick

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 12:55:03 -0500, Lorenzo Taylor wrote:

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 According to W. Nick Dotson:
 # First, your grasp of economics is flawed, unless you insist on clinging to 60's style failed NeoMarxcist paradigms.  
Next, 
 # your decimal place with respect to the number of visually impaired people in the US is one place too far to the left, or 
 # your memory and imagination has moved it there.

 You actually may be right with respect to the US.  But the worldwide number is
 at least that high.  So it is still possible for manufacturers who keep their
 costs low and their prices down to be able to easilly sell millions of units of
 their product.

 # The Apple Screen Reader is a primitive sop to keep school bids 
 # coming in, and still like any other screen reader, dependent upon the willingness of application programmers and 
 # marketroids to program in a manner acceptable to the standards being used for access by the screen reader.

 I never said it was perfect, but unless all screen reader developers move to an
 open source model, Apple's way is the only sort of good way for a company who
 insists on making and/or using proprietary software to make their systems usable
 by blind or visually impaired people without using price to discriminate against
 them.

 # Most visually impaired people, those with any residual vision cling to the use of that vision no matter how impaired it's 
 # functionality is, and cringe from the necessity to learn to access information with a divergent sensory modality from the 
 # one they think of as "normal" and "bespeaking being a "normal" person).

 My point exactly.  Make the "accessible" way the "normal" way.  Then a blind
 person won't feel blind using the product and won't feel that the price of what
 he or she needs is discriminatory and he/she will feel comfortable using a
 "normal" product just like everyone else.

 # And, your idea of JFW shipping with Windows, would stifle progress in screen reader development.  If you want 
imposed 
 # constraints on development, and price controls, I suggest you immigrate to a country with such a system then, see 
how 
 # happy you are with restricted choice.

 I'm not happy with the choices that are available now.  We already have
 restricted choice, because the screen reader developers insist on making
 proprietary technology that for the most part only works with proprietary
 technology and charging a month's salary for it.  The exception, of course, is
 the Linux world, where most of the screen readers available are free and open
 source, and the nice software synthesizers are relatively inexpensive.  Yes,
 they have their shortcomings for now from a technical standpoint, but they don't
 take food out of my mouth to be able to put them on my computer.  Until the
 proprietary screen reader developers become enlightened, it is necessary for the
 proprietary operating system developers to develope their own proprietary screen
 readers for their own systems in order to keep the end price from being
 prohibitive.

 # I for one don't want any part of your cossetted Nannie State, and restricted 
 # market society.

 And I for one have had enough of being descriminated against because I'm blind
 and having companies that make products I need feel like they can charge
 whatever they want for their products just because I need them.  No matter what
 some might think, I have done some research on this topic, and it makes me very
 angry to see what these companies are doing, like taking hardware off the store
 shelves that costs $100 to $150, putting a simple piece of software on them and
 turning around and charging $900 or more for the same product.  That is
 discrimination and price gouging, both of which are supposed to be illegal in
 this great country we live in.

 Lorenzo
 - -- 
 Keep American Idol great! Vote for Mandisa!
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