Hi. I can see both sides of the issue here. I am lucky, because I have two computers, one running XP and the other has Windows 8.1. The XP machine has worked faithfully for almost 13 years with absolutely nothing wrong with it. For a time it did have Windows 98 on it, but that was because I couldn't afford a screen reader to work with XP. Eventually I reinstalled XP onto it, and I got a screen reader to work with it. This XP PC has been on almost constantly for five years, and it hasn't shown any sign of old age. Even if I wanted to change to Windows 8.1, I don't think I could, because the PC only has 512 MB of RAM, and the video drivers for it are quite old. I suspect that there are many users who are using old technology like this, and they don't have the funds to upgrade their systems, if the computer can even be upgraded.
Now for my new PC, and I'm making a point of mentioning it. I just got this PC this week after my Windows 7 HP machine's motherboard was fried. The new PC is a Lenovo with 4 GIGS of RAM and a 1 TB hard drive. It's running Windows 8.1, and I have Window-Eyes 8.4 on it, which I got through the lease to own program when that was around. I hope this PC runs for years. Now for some further explanation on why I'm mentioning the new PC. I got it for $350 including tax. I pay about $50 for internet, but I have the maximum speed that Time Warner provides. I also have an Office 365 subscription that I pay $7 per month. You may wonder what my point is? It's simply this: If you can spend the up front cost for a laptop, which is what I have, you could get Internet and Office for around $25 or $30 per month, and you get Window-Eyes for free. I know there are those who still can't afford this amount of money, and I'm speaking as someone in the United States, so other countries may be in a different situation. For most of us, however, I suspect that we could afford this amount of money. This cost is much less than what a screen reader by itself cost even a year ago, if you don't count free screen readers. Technology is indeed coming down in price for the blind, and now, if you can afford a new computer, and if I remember, a desktop PC is even cheaper than a laptop, Just the cost of Internet and Office will get you Window-Eyes for free, and even if you can't afford internet or Office, there are free screen readers out there that will make your PC accessible. Just my thoughts. Kevin Minor, Lexington, KY 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.
