Agree with the below. How many people took up my suggestion, shared with the list, of drawing your concerns to the Chief Executive, or someone appropriately senior who can make decisions of the type which Brenda has suggested.
I've personally gone past being sentimental about Window-eyes. It is not a work In progress anymore from my standpoint, and in free countries - people can choose to stand on principle or be pragmatic and make best use of the tools available. Vaughan. -----Original Message----- From: Talk [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Brenda via Talk Sent: Friday, 31 March 2017 6:26 a.m. To: Sky Mundell; Window-Eyes Discussion List Subject: Re: orbit20 display and future of window eyes Hi Sky and List I think it is beyond the point of saving Window-Eyes. I think what folks on this list need to do now is to contact VFO and push for a reasonable price to transition from Window-Eyes to jaws. The number of SMAs should be considered so perhaps those with SMAs would be given jaws SMAs or the money paid toward their SMAs would be put toward the cost of jaws. Everyone should be given the convention price for jaws. Just a thought, Brenda On 3/30/2017 12:38 PM, Sky Mundell via Talk wrote: > Hello Kevin and Vaughn. Here are my thoughts on this. Had the blind > organisations had given Window-Eyes a chance, Window-Eyes would not > have gotten extinct and this would not have happened. Below, I'm > going to forward you guys some emails from a friend of mine who is on > this list, and I support him 100 percent! > > > > > Email 1: > > Hi Sky, > > > > Sadly that has been the way it has been since the start. As you said, > had the rnib, cnib, american league for th blind and so on favoured > window-eyes or even given it a chance. It would not be almost extinct > at this moment in time. It does make me angry. These people are > somehow escaping accountability for their acdtions. The entire system > has been geared towards Jaws continually. Every other screen reader > has become second rate because of the power wielded withing the blind > community. It's alright us saying this but actually proving it is > another matter. If it could be proved and despite all the negativity, > it could. Then what could happen? Telling the world about how a > ruthless power hungry organisation set out to control the world of the > blind with a screen reader? If people would back us up and not just > say that is what happened without saying I can prove it. To be able to > prove it would be the icing on the cake. It would show the rotten, > evil people at jaws who abused their power and in a way forced vendors > to favour jaws above other screen readers. If enough people were > prepared to come out and back us up we would have enough to at least make > those responcible for the blind to wake up and accept responcibility. > > > > I doubt that will ever happen as proving what we know to be true would > be difficult. Not impossible. We do have what is called a Mergers and > nonopoly commission but it too is being seen as a dog with no teeth. > Although it blocked a merger a few days ago between the two major > money markets, one in London and the other in @Germany from combining. > They have some power but it is only token gesture. > > > > There is a proposed merger between Rupert Murdoch and Sky tv. He will > be allowed to buy it despite criticism from other media cdompanies. He > owns the majority of the world's media and his control is beyond > anything that the world has seen before. There isn't much he doesn't > own and his political power is immeanse. That is the exact same as > jaws, the rnib, cnib and other organisations for the blind. > > > > If it could be possible for witnesses to come forward and confirm what > we are saying. That would be at least a start. We could get up a > petition expressing our opinion of the bullying from these so called > institutions for the blind. bringing them to account. It may not do > very much but at least it would rock the boat for a short time and > always be part of the history of blind peoples lives in a corrupt and > overbearing system. > > > > > Email 2: > > > > > From: bj colt [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Friday, March 24, 2017 6:34 AM > To: Sky Mundell > Subject: Re: window eyes proposal > > Hi Sky, > > I listened to the podcast from scun. I am not only disgusted but > really pissed off at VFO and with the presenters at the tech podcast. > ~Why aren't they kicking up hell? Probably because they are jaws > users. I got that impression just by their attitude. Zoom text and > fusion was an AI squared and window-eyes conception. Not a VFO idea. I > did say that's why they bought out ai squared and it seems I was > right. They are going to unceremoniously dump window-eyes. No new > updadtes, no upgrades, nothing, no development. The list really has to > do something at this stage. We really have to get together and make > sure VFO are aware of our feelings. Everyone who has paid for sma's > are now entitled to a full refund, no questions asked. No development > means no upgrades, no upgrades equals no need for sma's. No sma's means they > are stealing our money under false pretences. > > This time things have gone too far. Something has to be done, whether > it is a petition, legal action to force VFO to state their position. > Something. > All the conjecture on the list has to stop and positive action taken > by those who wish to keep window-eyes alive. What was stated in that > podcast, whether it is the opinions or not of the people who are > making the statements. It was made so clear, "No development of > window-eyes will continue". Only those areas where profit is to be made will > be supported. > That was made abundantly clear. That wasn't just an opinion, it was a > matter of fact. > > Live long and prosper, John > > > > > Hi Sky, > > > > Yes, they said that the free copy of window-eyes with Office was a > demo, that it wasn't a full version, it only lasted 6 months, it only > lasted a month. Those were regular lies told by vendors. The vendors > favoured Jaws because it brought them more profit. In that the Big > blind organisations reckomended jaws above other screen readers. When > those in Education, employment and other fields contacted the rnib etc > with questions about screen readers. What did they get? They got jaws > and nothing else. No reckomendations for window-eyes, nothing, only > jaws was offered. It happened iwth me. I lost a job because of it. > > > > Think about it? Jaws screen reader was always reckomended, followed by > extensive training in jaws at a higher cost, scripts that were > designed by jaws script writers at a consierable cost. Sky that was > the entire package that was reckomended. The cost of everything, the > dam high cost of everything. > > > > > > > From: bj colt [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Sunday, November 27, 2016 10:51 AM > To: Sky Mundell > Subject: Re: Window-Eyes Proposal > > Hi Sky, > > Members of the list have stated that and more. No one was willing to > fight gw's corner. Jaws had too much a grip in institutions, that's one > reason. > The actual proof was so well hidden it could not be proved > conclusivly. Yet it was widely known. As in the post about FS seuing > institutions if they didn't approve of jaws over any other screen > reader. In hindsight, had we known that window-eyes would be put in > jeapordy we would have done something. None of us knew this may happen > and that's another reason we didn't do anything about the situation. > > Sadly it looks as if it is all over for window-eyes. I noticed the > post saying the person contacted aisquared and confirmed that s m a's > were and would be available in the future. > Yet he wasn't willing to actualy prove that was the case. He didn't > post an email or confirmation from asquared that this was the case. I > would have liked to have been given proof of this. My proof is in the > email posted to the group by asquared, where no mention of s m a's are made. > > There isn't much time left for VFO to make an official statement about > the future of window-eyes. Then we will know for certain. > > Robert would be livid. He would be doing anything to keep window-eyes alive. > The same as we will be doing. He will be proud of us when the time comes. > > Live long and prosper, John > > > > > These are my thoughts as well. These emails should get us springing > into action to keep Window-Eyes going. Lets all keep it alive and get > this truth exposed and get Window-Eyes to the top in organisations for the > blind. > -----Original Message----- > From: Talk [mailto:[email protected]] On > Behalf Of Kevin Huber via Talk > Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2017 6:50 AM > To: Vaughan Dodd; Window-Eyes Discussion List > Subject: Re: orbit20 display and future of window eyes > > Hi Vaughan: > > Mostly, I see your point and I would aggree, accept that, if VFO works > out a contract with Microsoft which will allow them to create a JAWS > For Office, presumably Window-eyes, and therefore Window-eyes for > office, will be dead so there will only be two free screen readerws. > Also, if WGW Micro created Window-eyes for Office to prevent people > from switching to NVDA, wouldn't that reasoning apply to creating a > JAWS For Office? Not to say that they will because I highly doubt > that that will happen, but maybe it remains a possibility. > Kevin Huber and > > On 3/29/17, Vaughan Dodd via Talk <[email protected]> wrote: >> I think you'll find that VFO will not do this. >> >> Microsoft funded this, under a contractual basis. >> The contract supporting the Window-Eyes with Office scheme will >> most certainly come to an end. >> The financial backers of VFO are funding the continued development of >> JFW, and they will expect a return on their investment. >> >> The Window-Eyes for Office deal was a response to the increasing user >> support for NVDA. The dramatic reduction in the addition of new >> features and bug fixes for Window-Eyes is due in part to the deal, >> and people choosing not to purchase Window-Eyes because they had >> access to two free screen readers. >> >> There is no way that there can be three free screenreaders. >> >> >> Think about it: once a JFW for Office deal is struck with Microsoft, >> there will be clauses - such as - "cannot continue to develop >> interfaces for products from software competitors" and so forth. >> >> Regarding the Orbit thing: emulation of an 18 cell display means you >> lose 10% of the available realestate. Because the objective of the >> Orbit > project >> is sound - electronic braille to more people - there will be a JFW >> driver soon. That driver will probably need to be developed by the >> Orbit consortium, rather than VFO. VFO won't throw in a free non VFO >> braille display when you buy JFW. It will develop deals for >> discounting its own displays. This is partly why Optelec are part of the >> group. >> >> >> Vaughan. >> >> >> >> Vaughan. >> >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Talk >> [mailto:[email protected] >> m] On Behalf Of Joshua Kennedy via Talk >> Sent: Thursday, 30 March 2017 11:07 a.m. >> To: [email protected] >> Subject: orbit20 display and future of window eyes >> >> and so this is why the vfo group has to just fold window eyes into >> jaws or just give us a free jaws for office option. because for some >> people NVDA does not cut it, and we need something more powerful, yet >> that is low cost or free. a jaws for office would work fine >> especially if you need to do stuff in microsoft office. not to >> mention jaws works good with the orbit >> reader20 prototype set to refreshabraille18 emulation. >> window eyes does not work with orbit20 at all. come on vfo group let >> us > use >> jaws for free if microsoft office is installed on our machines! >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the > author >> and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. >> >> For membership options, visit >> > http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/vaughan. > dodd00 > 1%40msd.govt.nz. >> For subscription options, visit >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >> List archives can be found at >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >> >> ------------------------------- >> This email and any attachments may contain information that is > confidential >> and subject to legal privilege. 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The Ministry of Social >> Development accepts no responsibility for changes made to this >> message or attachments after transmission from > the >> Ministry. >> >> ------------------------------- >> _______________________________________________ >> Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the > author >> and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. >> >> For membership options, visit >> > http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/huber.ke > vin7%4 > 0gmail.com. >> For subscription options, visit >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >> List archives can be found at >> http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com >> > _______________________________________________ > Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the > author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. > > For membership options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/skyt%40s > haw.ca > . > For subscription options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > List archives can be found at > http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > > _______________________________________________ > Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author > and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. > > For membership options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/options.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com/bjnite%40windstream.net. > For subscription options, visit > http://lists.window-eyes.com/listinfo.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > List archives can be found at > http://lists.window-eyes.com/private.cgi/talk-window-eyes.com > > _______________________________________________ Any views or opinions presented in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Ai Squared. 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