[access-uk] Re: In Touch: Why do we pay so much? Again!
- From: "Ray's Home" <rays-home@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 10:00:24 +0100
Wally. Nice to have a response from someone who I should say aught to be in
the know.
I ask myself, if RNIB, just to give one example, isn't making money out of
selling JAWS - just to give one example - then why, exactly, are they
selling it? OK, maybe they feel they provide a service which in some way is
'better' or different to competitors selling it; I simply do not know.
We, as ordinary punters and critics of pricing policy have one undoubted
handicap: we do not actually know what the markup actually is on selling
this stuff, JAWS included. You would imagine it must include some notional
amount for help and support. Well, if that's the case, what's the take
folks on the support you get from your supplier? How much do you depend on
thi? How much do you depend on email lists, like this one? Or other
sources of help?
If we did know what margin end sellers make on JAWS and other products,
could we conclude there could be price competition with the margin coming
from support, (after an agreed period of 'free' support?
Speculatively, Sometimes I wonder if, apart from obvious reasons of good MS
Office support in JAWS, RNIB plumped for recomending this always over other
screen readers in spite of particular users requirments and needs. After
all, to field questions on one screen reader only is much less complicated
than dealing with three or more. The fact is though that for many users I
suspect they never get to using JAWS in all its wonderous complexity and
certainly never consider tweaking it. That must tell us something. That
many people get buy without learning MS Office in-side-out, or they do not
get the opportunity to learn to use Office with a screen reader in depth;
or they simply are not concerned about learning more than the basics. In
which case, they are using an overpowered screen reader. None of that would
matter were it not for the fact that they are paying considerably over the
odds for using the 'best'.
In the meantime, let's hope that competition from Window-Eyes, or latterly,
HAL, will help in making prices more , dare I say, realistic, or affordable.
Any true assessment worthy of calling itself that should be about more than
justifying buying the most exspensive accompanyed by a chorus of 'It's
simply the best'.
Ray.
----- Original Message -----
From: <Wally.Harding@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2004 8:16 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: In Touch: Why do we pay so much? Again!
If the charity you're hinting at is the one for which I work, you are very
much mistaken, we are certainly not doing very well out of it, I know, I'm
in the middle of it all but don't make the decisions or have any powers to
change things.
It should also be remembered that when a supplier/reseller, like us, sells a
product for which that supplier doesn't have sole distributorship of, the
price for which it is sold is determined by the manufacturer and we have to
go with it or not supply it.
That's why jaws costs the same no matter where you buy it in the UK, because
Freedom Scientific control the pricing of their product. This is also the
reason why there is almost no competition between companies/charities with
regards to access technology products.
Wally Harding
RNIB Hi-tech support
-----Original Message-----
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf
Of Ray's Home
Sent: 27 July 2004 21:09
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] In Touch: Why do we pay so much? Again!
Hello again list.
Tonight's In Touch may appeal to those like me who feel we are unjustafiably
paying over the odds for much equipment. Included is an interview with Alan
Davis of Pulse Daae International.. See what you think of his defence.
There was a suggestion that the larger charities should campaign on this.
Could be that at least one of them is doing fairly nicely out of this,
thanks very much.
Go to:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/factual/rams/intouch.ram
To hear the latest edition.
Ray.
** Going on holiday and want to halt messages? Send a message to:-
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** vacation ## d
** where ## is the number of days followed by d for days.
** For other things like digest mode, send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
--
DISCLAIMER:
NOTICE: The information contained in this email and any attachments is
confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended
recipient you should not use, disclose, distribute or copy any of the
content of it or of any attachment; you are requested to notify the
sender immediately of your receipt of the email and then to delete it
and any attachments from your system.
RNIB endeavours to ensure that emails and any attachments generated by
its staff are free from viruses or other contaminants. However, it
cannot accept any responsibility for any such which are transmitted.
We therefore recommend you scan all attachments.
Please note that the statements and views expressed in this email and
any attachments are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
those of RNIB.
RNIB Registered Charity Number: 226227
Website: http://www.rnib.org.uk
** Going on holiday and want to halt messages? Send a message to:-
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** vacation ## d
** where ## is the number of days followed by d for days.
** For other things like digest mode, send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
** Going on holiday and want to halt messages? Send a message to:-
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** vacation ## d
** where ## is the number of days followed by d for days.
** For other things like digest mode, send a message, to
** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
Other related posts:
