[nabs] difference between Jaws 12 and Windows Eyes 7

Wed Dec 22 12:41:56 GMT 2010

Ah, the conspiracy theorist in me wonders how much funding the adaptive
technology producers give the consumer organizations...Purely speculative
ranting of my own! LOL

Joe

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing

  _____  

From: Anmol Bhatia [mailto:anmolpbhatia at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 7:35 AM
To: jsorozco at gmail.com; National Alliance of Blind Students.Discussion list
for NABS
Subject: Re: [nabs] difference between Jaws 12 and Windows Eyes 7

Joe,
Again good points, but a ideal situation would be that the voc rehab clients
insist that rehab perchase mack instead of windows and screenreader and
train them on the mack. Moverover, it really baffels me that organizations
such as the NFB and ACB are not doing more to push to make screenreaders
afordable to the average blind person. I hear alot of talk from both
organizations about the right of a blind person to live a independent life
much of it I agree, but I don't see enough being done to provide blind
people with equal economic equality to our sighted counterparts. How are we
expected to be economicly successful when much of what we earn if we earn
has to go to companies like Freedom Scientific?

Just some thoughts and excuse my rants. I just get really pissed off
whenever I start thinking about the reality of how expensive adaptive
technology is for blind person.

best wishes,
Anmol

I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps
there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze
among flowers.
Hellen Keller

--- On Wed, 12/22/10, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [nabs] difference between Jaws 12 and Windows Eyes 7
To: "'Discussion list for NABS, National Alliance of Blind Students.'"
<nabs at acb.org>
Date: Wednesday, December 22, 2010, 6:22 AM

Anmol,

I don't think it'll make a difference to GW Micro and Freedom Scientific
that Macs come talking out of the box.  They have a pretty established
customer base among government agencies, and the PC continues to hold the
greater market share.  Unfortunately, there is very little training
dedicated to the Mac system.  Until rehab agencies recognize that the Mac is
a viable option for consumers, the PC will remain popular, and FS and
company will continue to enjoy huge profits from screen readers.  As we saw,
Freedom Scientific's price slash went to their Braille display, not their
screen reader because it wouldn't make sense to bring down prices on a
product they know sells high and plenty.  No, I totally agree it does not
hurt to hope, but in a world where results speak better than wishes,
consumers have to make informed decisions about where their limited
investments go.

Best,

Joe

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing

  _____  

From: Anmol Bhatia [mailto:anmolpbhatia at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2010 4:38 AM
To: jsorozco at gmail.com; National Alliance of Blind Students.Discussion list
for NABS
Subject: Re: [nabs] difference between Jaws 12 and Windows Eyes 7

Joe,
Good points, but the good news is that with the Mack's built in Voice Over
screen reader companies like Freedom Scientific and GW Micro have some
competition. Now more blind people are buying Mack instead of a computer and
a screen reader and it is my hope that this will affect companies like
Freedom Scientific and GW Micro.
Maybe hopeful thinking, but nothing wrong with hoping.

Anmol

I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps
there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze
among flowers.
Hellen Keller

--- On Tue, 12/21/10, Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com> wrote:

From: Joe Orozco <jsorozco at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [nabs] difference between Jaws 12 and Windows Eyes 7
To: "'Discussion list for NABS, National Alliance of Blind Students.'"
<nabs at acb.org>
Date: Tuesday, December 21, 2010, 1:47 PM

Rhonda,

You won't get an argument from me as to the cost of JAWS.  It is expensive,
but it is also something of a needed expense once the product has been
purchased.  I paid $260 to upgrade from Version 11 for an SMA that includes
version 12 and will include version 13 next year.  This is two year's worth
of software, which comes out to $10.83 a month.  I think that in the absence
of regular auto fuel, tune-ups and general repairs, we have to budget for
our technology.  It's not as if we don't know these products cost money
later down the road.  If you can think of a way to pressure companies to
bring down prices, let us in on it.  I considered starting a group to do
this very thing, but the dynamics aren't there to make something concrete
happen.  As long as the government continues to assume JAWS and Window Eyes
are the leading products and are worth whatever GW Micro and FS charge, the
likely it will be for us as individual consumers to be able to keep up with
the steep price of a new product.

Now, all that aside, you didn't ask for my analysis. LOL  You asked which
product to use, and if upgrading to the latest JAWS version is truly out of
your price range, I would go with Window Eyes and opt for the short-term
leasing program where you pay something like a hundred a month versus the
forty-something.  If you already have five hundred saved up, I'm thinking
you could save up another four hundred within the next five months to clench
the deal on the product.  Unless I'm mistaken, it's possible to purchase the
product outright once you've paid a certain percentage.  I personally don't
like the keyboard setup for Window Eyes, but I would agree that if you're a
proficient JAWS and Windows user, you can get acclimated relatively easy to
the other screen reader.

Regards,

Joe

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing

  _____  

From: Rhonda Partain [mailto:partain319 at bellsouth.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 1:38 PM
To: jsorozco at gmail.com; 'Discussion list for NABS, National Alliance of
Blind Students.'
Subject: RE: [nabs] difference between Jaws 12 and Windows Eyes 7

Since most blind and visually impaired people are not employed, or are
underemployed having a payment plan makes it possible to have the latest
screen reader. Jaws is a good product, but its price makes it hard for an
individual to afford.

Rhonda 

From: nabs-bounces at acb.org [mailto:nabs-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of Joe
Orozco
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 1:15 PM
To: 'Discussion list for NABS, National Alliance of Blind Students.'
Subject: Re: [nabs] difference between Jaws 12 and Windows Eyes 7

I know Freedom Scientific has caught some flack for not taking customers
into consideration, preferring instead to deal with government agencies.
That being said, I think customer service is generally good.  When a
representative has not been able to answer my questions, the issue has been
escallated up to the right supervisor, and in at least one case I was put in
touch with the programmers themselves to work out my issues.  I recently
purchased JAWS 12 and 13, and while in a couple years my feelings may change
on FS products, for the moment I feel it offers the most compatibility with
a lot of applications out there.  This is by no means to discount Window
Eyes, whose growing script repository is enviable, nor is it to put down
NVDA and other products out there.  You pay a lot of money for a good
product, and remember sometimes the JAWS issues aren't necessarily JAWS
issues as much as Windows issues.  I understand Windows 7 offers better
stability than previous Windows platforms. 

Best,

Joe

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves,
some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."--Sam Ewing

  _____  

From: nabs-bounces at acb.org [mailto:nabs-bounces at acb.org] On Behalf Of
webmaster Christopher Wright
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2010 12:45 PM
To: Discussion list for NABS,National Alliance of Blind Students.
Subject: Re: [nabs] difference between Jaws 12 and Windows Eyes 7 

Hi Rhonda,

If you're concern is the cost, you might want to call Freedom Scientific and
find out, financially speaking, what your options are. You might also want
to visit http://www.fsactivate.com/ and press enter on the Continue Product
Activation button.

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The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

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