I do agree with you David about what you said.
-----Original Message-----
From: Talk [mailto:talk-bounces+skyt=shaw...@lists.window-eyes.com] On
Behalf Of David via Talk
Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2016 11:19 PM
To: Butch Bussen; Window-Eyes Discussion List; Matthew Chao
Subject: Re: Future of WE
Listers,
I had my hands on Jaws for something like an hour or so, that many years
ago, it would not even be considered useful for today's computer activity.
Name it a simple way to get a worksheet done. So, forgive me if I do not
know exactly what is wrong with Jaws, to many of you.
Maybe you disagree in their scripting capability, since it is a specialized
one, that requires the developers to learn something new.
Perhaps you dislike their set of hotkeys, or probably you have a ton of bad
things to say about their customer care. But the one thing I do pick up, is
their Copyright schemes.
Just wonder, if it has occured to anyone, that things might go backward from
what we all think. If, and mark down that I said IF, VFO decides to
discontinue Window-Eyes - WHO told you that they may continue Jaws with all
its semingly flaws?
Let's take the License issue.
Sure, the genious thing would have been, to transfer all WE users to Jaws,
and have us pay $250 for each computer we want to run with a screen reader.
Genious from an economic viewpoint, and sure to make your business boost.
Only, WILL all WE users transfer? Likely, most users will be on a budget
that makes it impossible to transfer more than one or two of their
computers. So there goes your first 50 percent of the sale. Lost because the
market cannot afford it.
From the licenses you now have left to sell, a certain amount of people
will leave your company altogether, and find alternatives. Be it they find a
free screen reader to help them out under Windows, they find it is time to
change to another OS (like Linux), or may it happen the user decides it is
time to go for a mobile solution anyway. Whatever the reason, your loss will
be another 20 percent of users, who discontinues the use of screen readers.
The next 20 percent decide, that they will just stick with what you have
already sold them. That is, long as no drastic changes to Windows itself
takes place, the user will keep using his computer with Window-Eyes, for the
rest of his time if so would be the case. Or, till he finds it time to move
on to other platforms. Again, you have lost the sale for him, anyway.
Then you are left with the last 10 percent of former users. You can decide
to sell them licenses for your new or alternative product, and add them to
your business plans and figures. These are users, who for whatever school,
work or individual reasons CANNOT do without a fully operative screen
reader. But the loss of huge amounts of the market, might be worth some
consideration.
Alright, but you cannot afford to keep both screen readers running. So you
have to let one of them go, and you may decide to throw out the one that is
considered the lesser one. Do you then ditch ALL of the screen reader? Was
it your whole intension, the day you bought your competitor, to simply move
him out of your way? Or, could it be, that his product actually held
something valuable? Something that would benefit your product in the future.
What if you, as the new owner, took the better part of his product, and
implemented it into the product you already have on your shelf. Then you
could make a better product, with better facilities for the customer, and
hopefully keep a higher amount of loyal users coming over on your side of
the room.
Again, let's have a look at the licensing issue.
You all seem to assume that once Window-Eyes would be out of place, no more
offer of a free screen reader. But who told you that the "free"-offer from
Microsoft would not be transfered to the next version of Jaws (or whatever
the new product is going to be named)? And, who told that there will be a
transfer fee at all, for existing paid versions of Window-Eyes? Could it
even be, that next generation of Jaws will be open-licensed, that you as a
paid-for user can install it on as many computers as you like? Not only for
former Window-Eyes users, but maybe for the whole community, from both
camps.
What about scripting capabilities?
Wouldn't it namely be a benefit to Jaws, if they implemented the same
flexibility in programming, as has been the case for the last handful of
years, with Window-Eyes? That would boost the productiveness of Jaws, and
benefit many users. Just think if there could be a chance for all former
Window-Eyes users, to finally get their hands on software - that up till now
has only been available for Jaws users. Like the Sonar music composition
software. Or, if Jaws users now could benefit from all the great apps we
have in the Window-Eyes camp, like the WeatherOrNot app.
Would not such merging of the technologies benefit the market? It sure would
boost the usability of the screen reader, benefit your customers, and make
the bigger chunk of them stay loyal.
But ain't you loosing money on not having them pay for the transfer?
No, not really. OK, you don't get money right away, but you keep a thousand
more loyal users. If a thousand more people pay the next update, and each
pays just $100, you spend the rest of the day in figuring how much money
that will create in your business. :)
Listers, is what we want to stay in production with our computer activity?
Or, are you ready to leave absolutely everything, just because you disagree
in the name of the software you are using? If the latter is the case, then
how about they simply changed the name of the screen reader, so as to please
you the better. :) My point is, if you could see a new screen reader - that
kept in place all the functionality, licensing and benefits you have come to
rely on, in addition to making available for you what you have not used to
have - would you then be less sad that the old Window-Eyes brand got
swallowed?
Would you still be using the same rough language about the new owner?
I have not even yet started to deal with the benefits we would have from
sharing experiences with the many Jaws users, on lists like this. Or the
fact that maybe we finally could lay down all the fightiness between the two
screen readers, and their users. Or the fact, that developers now could
develop software, webpages, and scripts, that benefitted a multitude more
people.
Will some of you argue, that such has never been the business model of the
new owner?
Good enough! But today's world of technology, with free alternatives on all
platforms, and a user community that steadily keeps moving toward
non-Windows solutions - what has been used to be the case in the past, will
have to be a matter of yesterday. Even a business owner these days, will
have to face the challenges of an ever-changing market. And if the only
reason for getting their hands on the Window-Eyes code and community, was to
turn it all down, there would have been numerous - FAR cheaper - ways to
outperform the screen reader we all rely on.
After all, do we REALLY know, if GW/_AISquared was
BOUGHT
by VFO? Or, was it actually that they
SOLD
themselves to VFO?
Who took the initiative? Who outlined the creterias? Who signed WHAT paper?
Nope, I DO NOT have the answers, neither do I necessarily want them.
What matters for me, is what we will get next. IF Window-Eyes has to perish,
then be it so. But what am I as an end-user, going to get instead? Will the
new product benefit me just as much, or even more? If so, am I ready to
complain? If on the other hand I am going to loose, well then it is time to
mourn and look around for something that better meets my requirements.
I agree, things could have been better communicated, and things do look a
bit strange for the moment. But please, could we maybe bring some of the
above questions along, in the further discussion. Perhaps even the staff
would have enjoyed knowing what we would like the new, combined screen
reader to look like. Features we want to see come around, which we know the
other camp has benefitted from for longer periods. Or, what schemes for
licensing and buying plans we would hope will be available.
How about we try to keep realistic, and constructive. :) Realistic, in that
we do accept the fact that nothing man-made lasts forever.
Constructive, in that we try to see things from more than just our personal
perspective.
On 11/27/2016 4:24 AM, Butch Bussen via Talk wrote:
> I agree. No jaws for me. I flat refuse to mess with their copy
> protection scheme. I have way to many computers floating around here
> 73 Butch WA0VJR Node 3148 Wallace, ks.
>
>
> doing various things. On Sat, 26 Nov 2016, Matthew Chao via Talk wrote:
>
>> Oh the shark bites! Not interested. Don't like the lack of
>> transparency, and I don't like options being forced down our throats.
>> There needs to be more competition, not a monoply.--Matthew Chao
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 11/26/2016 12:00 PM, CJ &AA MAY via Talk wrote:
>>> Well I plan to keep my head in the sand for as long as I can and
>>> stick with what I know.
>>>
>>> I doubt that I will ever go over to Jaws but will stay sitting on
>>> the fence for as long as I possibly can to see what solutions work
>>> for others who are also reluctant to go over to the Shark!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Alison
>>>
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>>
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