Listers,
I had my hands on Jaws for something like an hour or so, that many years
ago, it would not even be considered useful for today's computer
activity. Name it a simple way to get a worksheet done. So, forgive me
if I do not know exactly what is wrong with Jaws, to many of you.
Maybe you disagree in their scripting capability, since it is a
specialized one, that requires the developers to learn something new.
Perhaps you dislike their set of hotkeys, or probably you have a ton of
bad things to say about their customer care. But the one thing I do pick
up, is their Copyright schemes.
Just wonder, if it has occured to anyone, that things might go backward
from what we all think. If, and mark down that I said IF, VFO decides to
discontinue Window-Eyes - WHO told you that they may continue Jaws with
all its semingly flaws?
Let's take the License issue.
Sure, the genious thing would have been, to transfer all WE users to
Jaws, and have us pay $250 for each computer we want to run with a
screen reader. Genious from an economic viewpoint, and sure to make your
business boost. Only, WILL all WE users transfer? Likely, most users
will be on a budget that makes it impossible to transfer more than one
or two of their computers. So there goes your first 50 percent of the
sale. Lost because the market cannot afford it.
From the licenses you now have left to sell, a certain amount of people
will leave your company altogether, and find alternatives. Be it they
find a free screen reader to help them out under Windows, they find it
is time to change to another OS (like Linux), or may it happen the user
decides it is time to go for a mobile solution anyway. Whatever the
reason, your loss will be another 20 percent of users, who discontinues
the use of screen readers.
The next 20 percent decide, that they will just stick with what you have
already sold them. That is, long as no drastic changes to Windows itself
takes place, the user will keep using his computer with Window-Eyes, for
the rest of his time if so would be the case. Or, till he finds it time
to move on to other platforms. Again, you have lost the sale for him,
anyway.
Then you are left with the last 10 percent of former users. You can
decide to sell them licenses for your new or alternative product, and
add them to your business plans and figures. These are users, who for
whatever school, work or individual reasons CANNOT do without a fully
operative screen reader. But the loss of huge amounts of the market,
might be worth some consideration.
Alright, but you cannot afford to keep both screen readers running. So
you have to let one of them go, and you may decide to throw out the one
that is considered the lesser one. Do you then ditch ALL of the screen
reader? Was it your whole intension, the day you bought your competitor,
to simply move him out of your way? Or, could it be, that his product
actually held something valuable? Something that would benefit your
product in the future. What if you, as the new owner, took the better
part of his product, and implemented it into the product you already
have on your shelf. Then you could make a better product, with better
facilities for the customer, and hopefully keep a higher amount of loyal
users coming over on your side of the room.
Again, let's have a look at the licensing issue.
You all seem to assume that once Window-Eyes would be out of place, no
more offer of a free screen reader. But who told you that the
"free"-offer from Microsoft would not be transfered to the next version
of Jaws (or whatever the new product is going to be named)? And, who
told that there will be a transfer fee at all, for existing paid
versions of Window-Eyes? Could it even be, that next generation of Jaws
will be open-licensed, that you as a paid-for user can install it on as
many computers as you like? Not only for former Window-Eyes users, but
maybe for the whole community, from both camps.
What about scripting capabilities?
Wouldn't it namely be a benefit to Jaws, if they implemented the same
flexibility in programming, as has been the case for the last handful of
years, with Window-Eyes? That would boost the productiveness of Jaws,
and benefit many users. Just think if there could be a chance for all
former Window-Eyes users, to finally get their hands on software - that
up till now has only been available for Jaws users. Like the Sonar music
composition software. Or, if Jaws users now could benefit from all the
great apps we have in the Window-Eyes camp, like the WeatherOrNot app.
Would not such merging of the technologies benefit the market? It sure
would boost the usability of the screen reader, benefit your customers,
and make the bigger chunk of them stay loyal.
But ain't you loosing money on not having them pay for the transfer?
No, not really. OK, you don't get money right away, but you keep a
thousand more loyal users. If a thousand more people pay the next
update, and each pays just $100, you spend the rest of the day in
figuring how much money that will create in your business. :)
Listers, is what we want to stay in production with our computer activity?
Or, are you ready to leave absolutely everything, just because you
disagree in the name of the software you are using? If the latter is the
case, then how about they simply changed the name of the screen reader,
so as to please you the better. :)
My point is, if you could see a new screen reader - that kept in place
all the functionality, licensing and benefits you have come to rely on,
in addition to making available for you what you have not used to have -
would you then be less sad that the old Window-Eyes brand got swallowed?
Would you still be using the same rough language about the new owner?
I have not even yet started to deal with the benefits we would have from
sharing experiences with the many Jaws users, on lists like this. Or the
fact that maybe we finally could lay down all the fightiness between the
two screen readers, and their users. Or the fact, that developers now
could develop software, webpages, and scripts, that benefitted a
multitude more people.
Will some of you argue, that such has never been the business model of
the new owner?
Good enough! But today's world of technology, with free alternatives on
all platforms, and a user community that steadily keeps moving toward
non-Windows solutions - what has been used to be the case in the past,
will have to be a matter of yesterday. Even a business owner these days,
will have to face the challenges of an ever-changing market. And if the
only reason for getting their hands on the Window-Eyes code and
community, was to turn it all down, there would have been numerous - FAR
cheaper - ways to outperform the screen reader we all rely on.
After all, do we REALLY know, if GW/_AISquared was
BOUGHT
by VFO? Or, was it actually that they
SOLD
themselves to VFO?
Who took the initiative? Who outlined the creterias? Who signed WHAT paper?
Nope, I DO NOT have the answers, neither do I necessarily want them.
What matters for me, is what we will get next. IF Window-Eyes has to
perish, then be it so. But what am I as an end-user, going to get
instead? Will the new product benefit me just as much, or even more? If
so, am I ready to complain? If on the other hand I am going to loose,
well then it is time to mourn and look around for something that better
meets my requirements.
I agree, things could have been better communicated, and things do look
a bit strange for the moment. But please, could we maybe bring some of
the above questions along, in the further discussion. Perhaps even the
staff would have enjoyed knowing what we would like the new, combined
screen reader to look like. Features we want to see come around, which
we know the other camp has benefitted from for longer periods. Or, what
schemes for licensing and buying plans we would hope will be available.
How about we try to keep realistic, and constructive. :) Realistic, in
that we do accept the fact that nothing man-made lasts forever.
Constructive, in that we try to see things from more than just our
personal perspective.
On 11/27/2016 4:24 AM, Butch Bussen via Talk wrote:
I agree. No jaws for me. I flat refuse to mess with their copy
protection scheme. I have way to many computers floating around here 73
Butch
WA0VJR
Node 3148
Wallace, ks.
doing various things. On Sat, 26 Nov 2016, Matthew Chao via Talk wrote:
Oh the shark bites! Not interested. Don't like the lack of
transparency, and I don't like options being forced down our
throats. There needs to be more competition, not a monoply.--Matthew
Chao
On 11/26/2016 12:00 PM, CJ &AA MAY via Talk wrote:
Well I plan to keep my head in the sand for as long as I can and stick
with
what I know.
I doubt that I will ever go over to Jaws but will stay sitting on the
fence
for as long as I possibly can to see what solutions work for others
who
are
also reluctant to go over to the Shark!
Alison
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