Re: The beginning of the end for jaws?
No, I don't think this applies. Microsoft is still partnering with Vispero, NV Access, etc. I think NVDA will always be an option because it's free and is supported by the community thanks to its open source nature. The problem is JAWS/Magic/Zoom Text. What are the people at Vispero going to do if no one bothers purchasing their products in a few years because Narrator and NVDA are good enough for 99% of the tasks most people want to do?
As far as I know, they can't stop Microsoft from building their own in house solutions. They might get butt hurt over it, but they're going to have to suck it up. Once again, I think it would be best if these people joined Microsoft. Imagine the amount of talent they could bring to the Narrator and Magnifier teams.
Times are a changing, and unless Vispero change their business practices, they're going to be left behind. i'm sorry, but I really think that's going to happen in the not too distant future. Hopefully organizations will wake up and realize that they don't need to pay for an expensive solution like JAWS to access Microsoft Office and other commonly used programs in the workplace when Narrator and NVDA can do it for free.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again. The only legitimate reason I can come up with to justify the price of JAWS is the scripting support to make applications more accessible. First, we shouldn't need scripts. Scripts are band-aid solutions that temporarily solve problems. Developers should be making their apps more accessible by following guidelines, not being lazy and using scripting as an excuse. Second, I'm pretty sure NVDA add-ons can be used for the same purposes as JAWS scripts. I don't want to hear any of this security risk nonsense either. While it's technically true, you should be fine as long as you get them from a trustworthy source such as the official NVDA repository.
So, in summary, Vispero is going to have to get with the times and change their old business model which is over 20 years old, or they will be left behind. I find it absurd that they're still charging for SMA upgrades now that Windows 10 is changing so quickly. I suppose it gives them an excuse to milk more money out of agencies that don't know any better. I think the annual subscription is nice, but it's far too late IMHO. Why couldn't they have done this 10 years ago?
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