I don't think the dollar is at work here. China hangs their currency against ours so that's not a factor and the Euro is falling against the dollar.
On Mar 7, 2011, at 12:34 PM, Richie Gardenhire wrote: > Scott, To add to your point, consider that our dollar has been devaluated to > the point that, when goods and services are imported to the US, our foreign > competitors can flood our shores with things that are sometimes cheaper than > what American companies can make them. Therefore, I would venture to say, > there are more factors to consider than supply and demand. Richie > Gardenhire, Anchorage, Alaska. > > > On Mar 7, 2011, at 11:13 AM, Scott Howell wrote: > > In reading this thread, I feel compelled to present a different argument to > the high cost of Braille displays and thus will play devil's advocate here. > It is possible that the high cost of Braille displays may be related to the > fact that: > 1. There is a small market, which means the cost will be naturally higher in > order to offset the fact that fewer units would be purchased. > 2. The cost of the components are produced at a much lower rate than the > parts for other technology. FOr example, the cost of a display to be used in > a monitor may be produced by the millions where the cells of a Braille > display may be produced by the tens of thousands. This would mean that > perhaps a lcd screen might cost $20 and the cells for a Braille display may > be $20 per cell. > 3. The cost of research and development is more do to the uniqueness of the > product and specialized skill set. > 4. Less competition in the market. COnsider that although several vendors > sell Braille displays, only a few manufacturers actually produce them. In > fact Baum makes displays they sell with their own name, but they also produce > displays for APH, Human Ware, and perhaps others. > > There has been examples of how developers of adaptive technologies have > produced products for less than hundreds and sold them for thousands. > However, my argument stated above would justify this to some extent. COnsider > that any company produces a product for X dollars and sells it for Y dollars. > The X cost has to take into consideration research and development, > marketing, distribution, and other overhead. Does this justify the cost of > what most Braille displays? I could not answer that question because I have > no idea what it really costs to produce such a device. I suppose you could > make the argument that the research and development has probably been paid > for several times over, but consider that innovation of new features and > technology has not stopped either. I imagine if Braille displays were sold by > the hundreds of thousands or millions the cost would be considerably less. > So, I have not seen any evidence presented that supports the argument that > "intrenched" providers artificially inflate prices to control the market at > the expense of consumers. If there is some evidence to support this then > great, but consider what you are saying would mean there is a conspiracy > among the manufacturers and vendors. Does make for a fascinating discussion. > > On Mar 7, 2011, at 2:40 PM, Sarah Alawami wrote: > >> Yeppers. That's why. >> >> On 07/03/2011, at 11:05, "Cheree Heppe" <che...@dogsc4me.com> wrote: >> >>> Cheree Heppe here: >>> >>> Is that why we don't have universal, affordable, Braille displays? Because >>> intrenched providers are holding new development and innivation back to >>> benefit current high priced offerings? >>> >>> >>> Regards, >>> Cheree Heppe >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Scott Granados" <scott.grana...@gmail.com> >>> To: <macvisionaries@googlegroups.com> >>> Sent: Monday, March 07, 2011 10:32 >>> Subject: Re: macbook air vs ipad 2 >>> >>> >>> Apple isn't going to car if some nat of a company like fS brings legal >>> action. >>> >>> Apple can simply use stalling tactics and let them run out of money >>> spinning their wheels. >>> >>> >>> On Mar 6, 2011, at 7:02 AM, Jane wrote: >>> >>>> We're assuming they will do Braille. That'd be neat, *if* they can pull it >>>> off and *if* Braille display makers don't push them out of the market by >>>> constantly suing. >>>> >>>> Jane >>>> >>>> >>>> On Mar 5, 2011, at 11:07 PM, Sarah Alawami wrote: >>>> >>>>> Yeah don't forget it's thinner. When haptics comes out think of the >>>>> screen room you wil have for braille right there. >>>>> On Mar 5, 2011, at 7:22 PM, Cheree wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Cheree Heppe here: >>>>>> I like the IPad, actually. >>>>>> >>>>>> I went for the I-devicees first because they open a very intuitive, easy >>>>>> entre into the Apple environment. No commands and keystroke chording >>>>>> and what seemed to me a quick start interface. >>>>>> >>>>>> In a bit, I'm ggoing to get an Air or Mac, but would have done so with >>>>>> much more trepidation if not having tried the I-devices first. >>>>>> >>>>>> As to the base measurements of a PacMate being smaller than an IPad, >>>>>> true, but that's only a single dimension. >>>>>> >>>>>> Regards, >>>>>> Cheree Heppe >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> Sent from my iPhone >>>>>> >>>>>> On 05/03/2011, at 19:07, "David Tanner" <david.tanner...@gmail.com> >>>>>> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Well, let's see, the iPad is clunkier to carry around than an iPhone or >>>>>>> iTouch. The iPad is almost as expensive as buying the basic MacBook >>>>>>> Pro 13 with two gigabytes of memory, and the processor in the new iPad >>>>>>> is only a 1.0 gigahert duel core processor. The MacBook Pro 13 has a >>>>>>> lot faster processor than that and so does the Ayer if you want to pay >>>>>>> the higher price for solid state memory instead of a hard drive. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> The iPad makes me think of all the blind folks that have complained >>>>>>> about the size of the PacMate QT. In fact, I don't think that the >>>>>>> PacMate QT would be as large in flat area as the iPad. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ricardo Walker" >>>>>>> <rwalker...@gmail.com> >>>>>>> To: <macvisionaries@googlegroups.com> >>>>>>> Sent: Friday, March 04, 2011 6:46 PM >>>>>>> Subject: Re: macbook air vs ipad 2 >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Me personally, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> If I need to get work done, I would go with a Macbook air. Its a full >>>>>>> fledged computer, and besides the added size, you will find yourself >>>>>>> bumping up against less barriers when trying to get things done. >>>>>>> Especially if you have an iPhone or iPod touch already. What are you >>>>>>> really missing in not getting an iPad? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> JMO >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Ricardo Walker >>>>>>> rwalker...@gmail.com >>>>>>> Twitter, Skype, and AIM: rwalker296 >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Mar 4, 2011, at 8:48 AM, Denise Avant wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> hello all, >>>>>>>> i am contemplating getting another apple device. i need something that >>>>>>>> is light to take when i travel. i was thinking of the ipad 2 because >>>>>>>> you can get pages to write with. the only problem here is that there >>>>>>>> is no port for external media like a usb drive, is there? >>>>>>>> my other alternative is that i can get the macbook air. but its a >>>>>>>> little bigger. i really don't need a screen. but i would have a port >>>>>>>> for external media. of course i would miss all of those apps you can >>>>>>>> have on the ipad. >>>>>>>> that can be negated by the fact that i have an iphone. >>>>>>>> well, i would be interested in hearing from those with the air. i know >>>>>>>> the ipad 2 is not out yet, but i'm sure there are some first >>>>>>>> generation ipad users here. >>>>>>>> thanks. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> For more options, visit this group at >>>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to 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