Hi, Ann. You may be right. However, I think the technology issue might be resolved with a little creative problem-solving if there is an interest. I don't know Kelby well enough to know if technology is the issue. I just see someone who is an avid reader who obviously wants to explore the world of ideas. I have found that some of our members have never considered scanning, sometimes assuming that it would be too difficult to learn. The other assumption is that scanning technology has to cost over a thousand dollars to do the job well.
Referring to your message, scanners don't cost $200 anymore, and that's a very good thing. (smile) A scanner that produces very clean scans can be had for around $50 now. Both Mayrie ReNae and I have such scanners. In addition, I can see a couple of ways to get affordable OCR software. FineReader 7, which has worked well for users of Kurzweil 10 for many excellent scans, is being sold by retailers for anywhere from $99 to $150. Since Kelby has a screenreader, FR 7 could be an option. I have seen the program in action, and it does work with both Jaws and Window Eyes. FineReader 8, which is the current version, costs more, around $399 I think. Another option is to seek a used edition of Kurzweil. I periodically see people selling Kurzweil either because they don't use it or because it belonged to a family member who has passed away or has become unable to use the software. Many of our volunteers are still using Kurzweil 8, 9, and 10 and are submitting high-quality scans. I think we get locked into the idea of using the newest technology, forgetting that the previous version of some software works nearly as well. This is certainly true of both FineReader 7 and Kurzweil. Maybe knowing about these things can help someone on this list bridge the technology gap and gain some further freedom.
Monica Willyard Ann Parsons wrote:
I suspect that Kelby is suffering from financial debilitation. Un Unfortunately if one suffers from this condition, $200 for a scanner plus a good $800 for a decent OCR program makes scanning a bit out of reach. There are cheaper OCR programs, but I don't know much about those. Now, if money grew on trees...I think Kelby could indeed learn to scan. Problem is getting the materials.Ann P.
