Hi Jackie
no i agree with you 100%. While i do have the latest Jaws installed
version 15, it is a demo and will always be a demo. Fs are truly a
greedy company, Gw aren't nor other screen reader vendors. Mind you the
majority of us now have switched to either Nvda or System Access. i
understand though Jaws is still required for complex often job related
situations, so that's why Fs still sells and always will sell Jaws, just
at rip off prices! Rant over. Regards Chris.
On 09/12/2013 08:43, Jackie Brown wrote:
Hi Gordon
Oh I have a real soap-box with Freedom, and it is this. You can buy two
versions of JAWS, Standard and Professional. But if you download it, there
is only the one version for either 32 or 64 bit, right? Now, when you
install whichever bit version of the software on your computer, then the
greed really kicks in. Your version of Windows determines which version you
take, Standard or Professional. So while Standard and Professional are one
and the same, FS have written it so that your version of the Microsoft OS
determines what you install. Window-Eyes is different in that regard, as is
Supernova and NVDA. The one copy fits all with those screenreaders, but not
for greedy FS's JAWS.
In addition, JAWS takes the locking code from your PC once it is installed,
so if you make any hardware changes like adding RAM or another HD, JAWS cops
out and you are back to demo mode. You then have to put another key on from
your count, or ask FS to reset the number of keys you have back to the
designated three. They will only do this for you under certain
circumstances, for example, not less than six months.
I think this whole gravy train thing is outrageous. They charge you for
upgrades that do very little, and only tend to fix things that have been
broken in previous versions. You can't do computer maintenance like adding
or removing memory without JAWS authorisation being affected, yet the
program is one and the same thing whether you have Standard or Pro, yet the
price is a lot different.
So perhaps you can see why I really dislike their practice, even though I do
use JAWS myself, and why my position as an employee of the UK distributor
was severely compromised because I felt the blind community were basically
being ripped off.
Rant over you will be glad to know! (smile).
Kind regards,
Jackie Brown
Twitter: @thebrownsplace
Skype: Thejackmate
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gordon Smith
Sent: 08 December 2013 12:50
To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm!
Subject: Re: App Evaluation: Seeing Eye GPS: Three Organizations,One Stellar
Effort! - AccessWorldR - November 2013
Hi Jackie
The current price of Jaws is £745.00 as quoted by Sight and Sound on Friday
last. I believe that the US price is $999.00 which would actually work out
about equal to the £745.00 which I was quoted. I was also quoted a nice
£195.00 for the Jaws SMA which, to be honest, is outrageous. Almost two
hundred quid for either 2 version upgrades or however many Freedom sees fit
to release in a year. I think that’s how it works, but I could be wrong
there.
I don’t know why these things have to be so damned expensive. I just don’t
buy the argument that they have to meet development costs. All the hundreds
of thousands of copies of Jaws which they have sold over the years, they
must be making a very tidy profit. Also, I would have thought that they
would be more than just a little worried about products like NVDA which, in
the case of NVDA in particular, are now attracting so many former users of
other products because NVDA is both free and extremely functional these
days.
I am only looking at Jaws because it is by var and away superior to all
other products I’ve trie working with in the Duxbury Braille Translator
environment. Like Mary, much of my work nowadays is in that software
environment as 95% of my work involvers Braille transcription and error
correcting of scanned main stream printed educational material. Both my
work and the translation itself have to be accurate. That’s not a matter of
choice, it’s a “Must”. One cannot expect teachers to tolerate inaccuracy in
the Braille products which they give to their pupils and I’d be pretty soon
in trouble were I not to work to a very high standard.
I’m going to try the Tiger BTS suite shortly to see how well that works. I
know it isn’t as functional as Duxbury in some respects, but I have a
ViewPlus EmBraille embosser so I get a free license. Nothing to lose.
Kind regards
<--- Gordon Smith --->
<[email protected]>
Information Technology Accessibility Consultant;
Providing Help & Support To Young People LivingWith Visual Impairment, plus
Braille Transcription services.
Telephone:
United Kingdom: Free Phone:
0800 8620538
Mobile:
+44 7907 823971
Europe and other non-specified:
+44 1642 688095
Or:
+44 1642 941776
United States Of America And Canada:
+1 646 9151493
Or:
+1 209 436 9443
Australasia:
+61 38 8205930
Or:
+61 39 0284505
Fax:
+44 1642 365123
Follow Us On Twitter:
<http://twitter.com/maciosaccess>
Skype:
<skype:mac-access-dot-net?call>
------------------------------
On 6 Dec 2013, at 16:58, Jackie Brown <[email protected]> wrote:
And have a nice 40% mark-up too when you buy JAWS from the UK dealer. I get
fed up with it as well Gordon!
Kind regards,
Jackie Brown
Twitter: @thebrownsplace
Skype: Thejackmate
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Gordon Smith
Sent: 06 December 2013 13:40
To: Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm!
Subject: RE: App Evaluation: Seeing Eye GPS: Three Organizations,One Stellar
Effort! - AccessWorldR - November 2013
Hi Jackie, Dane and all
Here here! This is one of those issues which really gets up my
nose! I see absolutely no reason why some companies and entities
in the US and Canada seem to believe that those of us who reside
overseas are second class citizens, and they refuse to make
products and services available to us.
I can think of several examples of this immediately. Freedom
Scientific and GW Micro will not allow us to buy and receive
products on line. We have to waste time going through the old
boy network, and buy from dealers who for the most part also only
ship products via snale-mail.
Another shining example of this in the main stream is Avid. I
have tried several times to buy ProTools on line. I can buy it,
yes. But not the download edition. I have to wait for boxed
products, and pay the additional delivery costs.
Sorry for the rant, but as I say, this is one issue which
really gets me annoyed.
Kind Regards
Gordon Smith
Information Technology Accessibility consultant
Providing Support For Young People Living With Sight Loss:
Advice On Accessible Information Technologies And Braille
Transcription Services.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jackie Brown" <[email protected]
To: "'Techno-Chat ... Technology Enthusiasm!'"
<[email protected]
Date sent: Fri, 6 Dec 2013 09:11:12 -0000
Subject: RE: App Evaluation: Seeing Eye GPS: Three Organizations,
One Stellar Effort! 3No, it isn't available in the UK either to
my knowledge. Come on guys,
let's have it! (smile).
Unfortunately this App doesn't appear to be available in
Australia, has
anyone on list tried this and if so what do they think? Read the
evaluation
below.
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