Hi,
Rusty writes:
Frank gave us the answer by reposting Jonathan's last blog entry.
<snip>
Jonathan says he felt DEMORALIZED when he was unable to provide for all of
the legitimate requests because the dedicated and brilliant small
team--read
Humanware--was ultimately unable to keep up with the mainstream. The
proprietary system around the BrailleNote is what has caused development
to
move more slowly and what caused Jonathan to leave.
That's true, largely because Humanware management has adhered to a certain
philosophy which has embraced Keysoft and rejected an open architecture and
the possibilities inherent in a redesigned user interface. As much as I
like my Braille Note and depend on it, I've always felt that Humanware will
ultimately reap the consequences of its inflexibility if the decision makers
refuse to think outside the box. I may be wrong and chewing on my foot a
bit here, but it seems to me that Keysoft isn't radically different than it
was when I first saw it twelve years ago on the Keynote Companion. To be
sure, there will be some resistance to change within the user community if
the architecture and user interface are revamped, but when the benefits of
these changes become clear, people ultimately respond favorably. To cite
just one example: how many blind guys do you know these days who are still
using DOS and are resistant to using Windows-based computers? >
I respect him deeply for admitting that he felt demoralized when he was
asked by BN users for improvements he was unable to deliver.
I do, too. How long can you beat your head against a wall?
I know that in my desire to see improvements, I was one of those who made
life difficult. I feel bad about this.
I don't, and neither should you. It's our right, indeed our obligation as
consumers to make our needs and desires known. I did, and I wasn't shy about
doing it, either. Do I have regrets? Absolutely not.
If Humanware, or any company, including FS, chooses not to respond to the
pressures of the marketplace, then it will lose market share and possibly
fail. That's a simple fact.
I can only hope that Jonathan's work at FS will cause HW to make
improvements to keep up and keep selling more units.
Here here, but that can only happen if upper management is vigilant
regarding what the competition is doing, and is willing to invest in
innovation which yields a competitive edge, not only investment
philosophically, but financially as well.
Tom
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