Barry, Isn't that what's called market forces? Also, this is surely off topic isn't it? Cheers. Alex Contact details: MSN Messenger: alexstone87@xxxxxxxxxxx Yahoo Messenger: alexstone5 aim: alexstone87 laser box number: (206) 312-6805 Please do not send messages to an any of these messenger accounts as they are not used for e-mail. ----- Original Message ----- From: "bbinc" <bbinc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2003 4:04 AM Subject: Re: JFW-friendly OCR > If these companies could sell their products for less then one of them would > do so , undercutting their rival, in order to grab a larger share of the > market. They don't so we can conclude that they have either got involved in > some dodgy price fixing or else the price is, in their opinion, a fair price > for the profit/cost. Also, the companies have to find a compromise between > differing individual needs and price. If they sold customised packages to > suit the customers needs then the cost would, understandably, go up. So, > they make a package that suits all. The problem with this is, although it > means that they can sell to a wider audience, the costs have to reflect the > ability of the package and the research and development that has gone into > creating it. However, as the package is aimed at a wider audience then more > should be sold and the price should come down. > > Barry > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Edward Marquette" <emarquette@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2003 2:01 PM > Subject: RE: JFW-friendly OCR > > > I think it may be a bit over the top to accuse FS and other makers of > special products for the visually impaired of ripping off their > customers. > In a free market economy, it is natural to expect a narrow, vertical > market with only few customers to carry products with what appear to be > relatively high prices. The "special" products and features simply > cannot be sold in sufficient volume to drive the price down. > To get a lower price, one would have to see some kind of subsidy. > Having said that, I think Open Book and its competitors are, in fact, > engaging in a kind of inadvertent subsidy program. > In my opinion, these products are loaded down with junk features that do > not add value for the on-the-job blind person who wants a product to OCR > a document and get out of the way. I don't want or need separate > speech. Perhaps that and all those other features, like scanning to a > note taker, are valuable to some, but not to me. By bundling all that > stuff in one package, I feel I am subsidizing others if I buy the > specially-designed products. > With JFW and Omni Page 12, I can scan directly to Word. I can even scan > to an image-only PDF file that I can email rather than fax. That comes > in handy with pictures, graphs, and hand-writing. > At one time I owned Open Book, but ditched it (originally) in favor of > Text Bridge. > I suppose I am suggesting that FS and others like it offer products at > different prices. Those who need all the bells and whistles can pay for > them. > Still, what I am saying is really just what I started talking about and > what lots on this list have been complaining about -- charging more for > those who need more. > Alas! Where is Karl Marx when you need him? <SMILE> > > > > Ed Marquette > 930 West 34th St. > Kansas City, MO 64111 > (816) 561- 7111 > > -----Original Message----- > From: jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:jfw-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On > Behalf Of Chris > Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 8:44 PM > To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: Re: JFW-friendly OCR > > > OmniPage Pro costs around 150 at staple's > > Chris > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Cletus Hostetler" <clhost@xxxxxxxxxx> > To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 9:39 AM > Subject: Re: JFW-friendly OCR > > > > Hi Listers, > > How does Abbyy Fine Reader compare with Text Cloner in terms of > > features > and > > JAWS friendliness? Also OmniPage is about midway in price between > > Text Cloner and Open book. Do the features of OmniPage warrant the > > price of > more > > than $500? Is Omni Page Jaws Friendly? I am running windows XP and > > JAWS > 5.0. > > Thank You, > > Cletus Hostetler > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Alan Clendinen" <alanclendinen@xxxxxxxxxxx> > > To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > > Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2003 9:15 AM > > Subject: re: JFW-friendly OCR > > > > > > > Jim, > > > > > > No, as I explained in my message, Text Cloner Pro uses JFW to > > > provide > the > > > speech. Openbook and Kurzweil 1000 have their own speech engines, > > > and as > a > > > result of this "feature" they often screw up JFW. > > > > > > Alan > > > > > > Jim wrote: > > > Is Text Cloner Pro self-voicing? > > > > > > Jim > > > To post a message to the list, send it to jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To > > > unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to > > jfw-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject > > line. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > To post a message to the list, send it to jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To > > unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to > jfw-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. > > > > To post a message to the list, send it to jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to > jfw-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. > > To post a message to the list, send it to jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to > jfw-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. > > > To post a message to the list, send it to jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to jfw-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line. > To post a message to the list, send it to jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send a message to jfw-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word unsubscribe in the subject line.