Hi. I've read with interest the discussion about whether GW Micro should charge for SocialEyes. I have an example of a service that charges for its content, and there are free, or very inexpensive products that compete with it. The product I'm referring to is XM Satellite Radio. It's been a while since I've paid monthly for it, but for a single radio, when I got it, the cost was $14 per month, and $6 for each additional radio. I was also fortunate to get an XM PCR, which hooks up to a PC, and with software you can see what each channel is playing. As I said, the cost I mentioned was a per month fee. XM offers a lifetime subscription, and I purchased it for both my radios. The cost for the lifetime subscription was over $500 for each radio, and if I wanted to transfer the subscription to another radio, it costs $75 per transfer, and I'm limited to three transfers per subscription. I have no problem paying for the lifetime subscriptions, because it will cost less for it than if I p aid over $20 per month for both radios that I have. There are alternatives to XM that cost very little or are free, such as Pandora and TapinRadio, so there are choices that you have in this case.
GW Micro, in my example, is like XM. You pay to use SocialEyes on a per year subscription, and this covers all updates for it to work with Face Book. Now, suppose a lifetime subscription were available, and for the cost of $250 you could get it. How would people react to this model? To make it similar to the XM example, you'd be limited to five computers to install the software on, and for additional installs you'd pay $50 for an additional five installs, and you can only pay for three per subscription. There would be those who paid for this model, because overall they'd pay less than if they got a per year subscription. As you might guess I support GW Micro to charge for their service. There are free alternatives to their product such as the mobile Face Book web site. As for a screen reader like Window-Eyes, I purchased their software because of GW Connect. I'm paying for it on the lease plan, and as of August I will own the license to use their software. Before Window-Eyes I had a competing package, but I've gone exclusive to Window-Eyes, because I like the interface better, and more importantly the other software isn't working with my Windows 7 PC. Hopefully their new version will solve the problem that I'm having. I called up the manufacturer of that package, but I didn't get much help. On the other hand, I had an issue with a program and Window-Eyes, and I called GW Micro about it. Within a week or so, the problem was solved. People could argue that Window-Eyes is too expensive, but remember that you also get free technical support. I've tried NVDA to see what it's like, and it's a nic e piece of software, but if you encounter a problem with it and a program you're using, do you have to pay for a solution, and if not, how long does it take to solve the problem? I've called GW Micro numerous times for help with Window-Eyes, and if they charged for their help I'd be well on my way to paying for a second copy of their great screen reader. What's the point of my message? It's simply to say that we as blind computer users aren't the only ones to pay for top notch software. It's true that you can buy a Mac with VoiceOver built in, but the Mac is more expensive than a PC, maybe not as costly as a PC with one of the paid screen readers, but it is more expensive than a PC with NVDA on it, and in both cases there are programs that are not screen reader friendly. As for being charged for specialized software, screen readers aren't the only pieces of software that do this. You can use a free email program, or for more features you can pay for Outlook. Screen Readers aren't the only blindness technology that charge for access to programs that are free to the sighted. Look at Hope that gives you easier access to Pandora. You pay a small fee to get it. I'd be curious about how many people purchased that software? I bet the author isn't rich from the program. I had to reformat my PC last year, and I lost the activati on code for my copy of Hope. I sent a note to the author to get my activation code again, but I haven't gotten it yet. If I want to use Hope again, I guess I'll have to buy a new activation code for it. This is annoying, but it's not a major problem for me, because I've found alternatives such as iTunes Radio which is free and accessible. So, the next time you think that it isn't fair to pay for something that the sighted don't have to pay for, remember that we aren't the only ones to have to do this, and things could be lots worse. That's my opinion on things. Don't work too hard. Kevin Minor, Lexington, KY [email protected] If you reply to this message it will be delivered to the original sender only. If your reply would benefit others on the list and your message is related to GW Micro, then please consider sending your message to [email protected] so the entire list will receive it. GW-Info messages are archived at http://www.gwmicro.com/gwinfo. You can manage your list subscription at http://www.gwmicro.com/listserv.
