Hi Richard,

You know and remember more about KNFB Reader for Simbian but I thought I did 
remember that $1,500 correctly because when I once considered it here in Canada 
at the time it was well over $2,000 canadian. Just out of curiocity, what 
features did the Simbian version have which the iOS version doesn’t have?
By the way, I do agree that developers like KNFB Reader or Sendero shouldn’t 
get too many breaks when it comes to the quality of the product they offer. 
Just because they may have been first at something doesn’t mean they can now 
rest on their Laurels and expect unwavering support for a product that doesn’t 
keep up with the times.
I was even earlier to the OCR game than you, I had my first HP Scanjet with 
Arkenstone in 1989 and it was still the DOS software at that time While I never 
jumped on the mobile OCR game until the iPhone, I did spend my share of money 
for expensive blindness solutions here are a few I had:

The ”eureka” notetaker back in 1989, $3,500 canadian at the time
The Trekker Maestro I think it was 2006 or 2007, $2,00 or $2,500 canadian
A Windows 5.1 smartphone with Mobile Speak and, after I sold my Maestro, 
MobileGeo, I think it was around $300 for MobileSpeak and $900 for MobileGeo, 
that was around 2008
I bought MobileGeo from good old Aman Singer from Toronto who was a Code 
Factory reseller and from whom I haven’t heard in years either on this list or 
otherwise.
And of course I had a VictorReader Stream and a Booksense, I bought the 
Booksense in 2009 not long before I found out I could buy an iPhone 3GS or iPod 
Touch third generation with Voiceover.
I decided to try an iPod Touch first before I commited to an iPhone and bought 
one in September of 2009, shortly after I sold my Booksense and VictorReader 
Stream.
Once I bought an iPhone 4 in 2010 I also sold the iPod Touch Third Gen and was 
able to still sell my Windows Smartphone at the time with MobileSpeak and 
MobileGeo and get a bit of money for it, can’t remember, but I think I sold it 
for around $700 in total.
Ever since 2010 I only spend money on iPhones and of course apps although even 
given the $100 I spend on KNFB Reader (I think at the time I managed to snag 
some 20% iTunes Gift Cards so I also paid less for it) what I spend on apps 
over the last 9 years is probably not that much compared to the costs of some 
of the above mentioned devices.
But I must say that it was fantastic when I went to Maui in 2008 and I had my 
Trekker Maestro and I was able to walk over a mile through Lahaina from the 
dive shop where I did my scuba certificate all the way to a photo store where 
the owner was also a diver and had taken a bunch of underwater pictures for me 
and burned them onto a Cd. I had my dog with me, but if I recall I never had to 
ask a single person for directions.

Regards,
Sieghard

From: viphone@googlegroups.com <viphone@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Richard 
Turner
Sent: Sunday, October 14, 2018 9:52 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Some blindness aps and games devs, disappoint in their attitudes 
towards

I've been using specialized OCR products for the blind since the mid 1990s 
starting with the Arkenstone system in 1995.
In the begining, it was a hybrid of MS-DOS and Windows 3.1.
I won't bore you with all of the versions, but the flatbed scanner in the early 
days was several hundred dollars, plus the $1000 or so for the sofware.
The first version of KNFB Reader that was made portable included two devices, 
an HP PDA and a digital camera strapped together so there were 2 batteries to 
keep charged and the cost was about $3,500.
The first Simbian version on a cell phone was just over $1500.
By the time the iPhone version came along, the simbian system was all but dead 
and a while before the simbian system went away, the Nokia phone/KNFB Reader 
combo had dropped in price to somewhere around $500 or $600.
So, when the $100 iPhone version was quite exciting, though the $10 Prizmo app 
was quite good if way more tedious to use.
I waited until KNFB Reader was on sale for $49.99 to buy it myself, though I 
still thought that was rather high for what it did since it did not have all 
the features the simbian version had.
I still find the fact that Prizmo Go for free offers format retention and The 
full Prizmo at $10 offers document saving also with format retention to put 
KNFB Reader to shame.
Yes, the Prizmo products are rather tedious to use, so I do not use them that 
much, but it isn't just Microsoft with their massive resources who are out 
performing KNFB.
The fact that KNFB is so unresponsive to customer feedback and that they have 
gone backwards in their usability, no matter what their previous performance 
was like, puts them on my personal (explative remove) list.

Richard




xpert: an ex is a has-been, a spirt is a drip under pressure. -- Bruce U. Utah 
Phillips





🦅

On Oct 14, 2018, at 9:23 AM, Mary Otten 
<motte...@gmail.com<mailto:motte...@gmail.com>> wrote:
I hear what you’re saying. But the  knFB reader was never equivalent to the 
blindness specific OCR apps which cost about $1000, not 1400, at least not in 
the US. Maybe it was 1400 Canadian? Those were quite expensive, still are. But 
they have a whole bunch of features that the iPhone app from KNFB Reader has 
never offered.


Sent from my iPhone


On Oct 14, 2018, at 8:47 AM, Sieghard Weitzel 
<siegh...@live.ca<mailto:siegh...@live.ca>> wrote:

And just to remind all of you that when KNFB Reader first came out and for some 
years afterwards it was considered the best OCR app out there, a game-changer 
and many of us were happy to pay $100 for an app which previously when it was 
available for okia cost $1,500. There have always been other OCR apps, but none 
was as user-friendly and worked as well for a blind person as KNFB Reader until 
the Seeing AI app came along. Now KNFB Reader is talked down because Microsoft, 
a multi-billion Dollar organisation has spend what probably is a few hundred 
thousand Dollars on the development of Seeing AI and they are giving it away 
for free. They probably write this off as charity or something but I'm always 
surprised how short people's memories sometime sare and how sometimes one app 
or developer is talked about like the second coming until they do something 
which doesn't suit some people and then it's a 180 degree reversal in attitudes.

Regards,
Sieghard

-----Original Message-----
From: viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> 
<viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>> On Behalf Of 
Anthony Vece
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2018 10:32 AM
To: viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: Some blindness aps and games devs, disappoint in their attitudes 
towards

Richard;
I agree completely with your assessment.
It’s just another example with KNFB Reader of how we are over charged.

Sent from my Verizon iPhone X!!!

On Oct 13, 2018, at 1:23 PM, Richard Turner 
<richardturne...@outlook.com<mailto:richardturne...@outlook.com>> wrote:

Frankly, KNFB Reader isn't worth the $100 US it costs and would certainly not 
be worth the 1884.70 in Mexico.

The only advantages it has over Seeing AI is that you can do multiple pages and 
save them as one document.
I suppose also that you only have to be about 12 inches or so above a document 
with KNFB Reader, and while you can manually take a picture at that height with 
Seeing AI, it won't do its automatic scan until you get about 18 inches or so 
above the page.

Seeing AI costs nothing.

Just my 37 centavos worth.

Richard



“Definition of an expert: An ex is a has-been and a spirt is a drip under 
pressure.” – Bruce U. Utah Phillips

-----Original Message-----
From: viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com> 
<viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>> On Behalf Of 
Gerardo Corripio
Sent: Saturday, October 13, 2018 9:28 AM
To: iPhone List <viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>>
Subject: Some blindness aps and games devs, disappoint in their attitudes 
towards

As some of you guys might already know, I’m the person responsible for the 
“Ciberaprendiendo Tutorials and Tech” pocast which airs Tuesays at 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eiberoamerica.com&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=STZi%2BULLBRf3s1L4atS6IIGiDv7JHqw4tMaha%2F7CgTM%3D&amp;reserved=0,
 and whenever I find an app that I personally feel would benefit the blind 
(especially those here in Latin America and other Spanish-speaking blind folks) 
I send an EMail to the devs of these aps, with generally interest in me 
featuring their apps in the before-mentioned podcast, which has an average 
listenership of between 800-1600 monthly, depending on the apps or services 
featured. However I’ve encountered two or 3 blindness devs whose attitudes 
leave to be desired. It’s as if ey all seem to think that we blind folks live 
in the same economic situation, in which usd$1.99 independent of where we are, 
is the same; here in Mexico, for instance, a USD$2 app or game would be almost 
Mxn$40. Yes I know I could buy these games. As long as I have the funds for 
these, but or more-expensive aps? Among the promo codes I’d like to get to 
record “Ciberaprendiendo” episodes on are KNFB Reader, and the Knight Commander 
recently-released game, which I could probably buy, but not until I have enough 
funds for.kn

Gera
Enviado desde mi iPhone SE de Telcel

--
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you 
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.

Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
mk...@ucla.edu<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu>.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can 
reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com<mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>

The archives for this list can be searched at:
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mail-archive.com%2Fviphone%40googlegroups.com%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=7MuPfvT3iY42RzN1y2JfdWOv0Co46DWmqs6LP8CbXsw%3D&amp;reserved=0
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"VIPhone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to 
viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to 
viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2Fviphone&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=gDqPABSygY3ezZEiJPOPs6jkYoCADiB1BesTtFUELtU%3D&amp;reserved=0.
For more options, visit 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Foptout&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=tQdoXBGFOUnWU96x%2F%2FKDgPiMjPM%2F72cbsrZjWRcbOEo%3D&amp;reserved=0.

--
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you 
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.

Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
mk...@ucla.edu<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu>.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can 
reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com<mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>

The archives for this list can be searched at:
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mail-archive.com%2Fviphone%40googlegroups.com%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=7MuPfvT3iY42RzN1y2JfdWOv0Co46DWmqs6LP8CbXsw%3D&amp;reserved=0
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"VIPhone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to 
viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to 
viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2Fviphone&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=gDqPABSygY3ezZEiJPOPs6jkYoCADiB1BesTtFUELtU%3D&amp;reserved=0.
For more options, visit 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Foptout&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=tQdoXBGFOUnWU96x%2F%2FKDgPiMjPM%2F72cbsrZjWRcbOEo%3D&amp;reserved=0.

--
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you 
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.

Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
mk...@ucla.edu<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu>.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can 
reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com<mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>

The archives for this list can be searched at:
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mail-archive.com%2Fviphone%40googlegroups.com%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=7MuPfvT3iY42RzN1y2JfdWOv0Co46DWmqs6LP8CbXsw%3D&amp;reserved=0
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"VIPhone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to 
viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to 
viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2Fviphone&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=gDqPABSygY3ezZEiJPOPs6jkYoCADiB1BesTtFUELtU%3D&amp;reserved=0.
For more options, visit 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Foptout&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=tQdoXBGFOUnWU96x%2F%2FKDgPiMjPM%2F72cbsrZjWRcbOEo%3D&amp;reserved=0.

--
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you 
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.

Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
mk...@ucla.edu<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu>.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can 
reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com<mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>

The archives for this list can be searched at:
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mail-archive.com%2Fviphone%40googlegroups.com%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=7MuPfvT3iY42RzN1y2JfdWOv0Co46DWmqs6LP8CbXsw%3D&amp;reserved=0
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"VIPhone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to 
viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to 
viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2Fviphone&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=gDqPABSygY3ezZEiJPOPs6jkYoCADiB1BesTtFUELtU%3D&amp;reserved=0.
For more options, visit 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Foptout&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=tQdoXBGFOUnWU96x%2F%2FKDgPiMjPM%2F72cbsrZjWRcbOEo%3D&amp;reserved=0.

--
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you 
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.

Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
mk...@ucla.edu<mailto:mk...@ucla.edu>.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can 
reach Cara at caraqu...@caraquinn.com<mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com>

The archives for this list can be searched at:
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mail-archive.com%2Fviphone%40googlegroups.com%2F&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=7MuPfvT3iY42RzN1y2JfdWOv0Co46DWmqs6LP8CbXsw%3D&amp;reserved=0
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"VIPhone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to 
viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to 
viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fgroup%2Fviphone&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=gDqPABSygY3ezZEiJPOPs6jkYoCADiB1BesTtFUELtU%3D&amp;reserved=0.
For more options, visit 
https://nam03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgroups.google.com%2Fd%2Foptout&amp;data=02%7C01%7C%7C48e9d8201679490521ee08d631f15e1d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C636751310060479505&amp;sdata=tQdoXBGFOUnWU96x%2F%2FKDgPiMjPM%2F72cbsrZjWRcbOEo%3D&amp;reserved=0.
--
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you 
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.

Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: 
mk...@ucla.edu. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
caraqu...@caraquinn.com

The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"VIPhone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to 
viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>.
To post to this group, send email to 
viphone@googlegroups.com<mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

-- 
The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list.

If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you 
feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or 
moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself.

Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor.  Mark can be reached at:  
mk...@ucla.edu.  Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at 
caraqu...@caraquinn.com

The archives for this list can be searched at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/
--- 
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups 
"VIPhone" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email 
to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

Reply via email to