Freedom Scientific is a fine example of the Capitalist approach to
developing a useful product. Capitalism begins with a beneficial
concept, like a screen reader for the blind; develops it, both through
innovative research and development, and through the pirating of
development being done elsewhere; risks capital investment of its own
money as well as the money of others; and finally markets a product
that quickly becomes the market standard.
But if that were as far as it went, we might say that Capitalism
really works for the good of All. But once Freedom Scientific had a
major market, it did not reduce its profit margin to a reasonable
level. It quickly moved from the "Beneficial Product" side, to the
"Exploitation" side, ending up
exploiting the very population it initially set out to benefit.
Capitalism is the handmaiden of Greed. When the bottom line is
Profit, just who do we think will pay the price? It is always those
who believed they would benefit.
Under Capitalism, the goal of a new corporation/company is to find or
develop an unmet need, fill it and then continue finding ways of
maintaining and expanding control of the product/service.
Freedom Scientific has developed a captive market, consisting of both
agencies and schools serving the blind, but a vast number of low
income blind people who struggle each year to afford the upgrades to
JAWS. While we who are being taken, cry out that it is
unconscionable, Freedom Scientific just smiles as it heads for the
bank. Freedom Scientific has so muddied the waters that it can't see
that it is no longer serving the needs of the blind, but is actually
exploiting them.
But we must not lose sight of why this happens. Freedom Scientific,
regardless of what they told us and themselves in the beginning, set
out to fill an unmet need for the purpose of making a profit. But
because they were looking to make a financial killing, they lost sight
of the part of their own propaganda that said they were meeting a
need.
Freedom Scientific, under Capitalism, is doing everything "by the
book". Look around you. Every successful company is using some
variation of the Freedom Scientific Method.
A prime example is the Oil Industry.
We can all look back to that first oil well and trace the growth of
the industry. It began by providing support to existing services.
Cheap heat, oil lanterns, use in lubricating equipment, and then
expanding to find other uses. Not only looking for other uses, but
growing strong enough to control the direction of our culture. We had
to have private transportation, we needed to have faster airplanes to
get to where we were going, sooner. We "found" new and wonderful uses
for this slimy, slick, smelly product. "Black Gold", it became known
as. But "Black Death" is a more realistic name.
We can lay our human troubles at the feet of Capitalism, but as long
as we do nothing to seize control, we become more than mere victims,
we are enablers.
By the way, I quit upgrading to JAWS nearly two years ago. I have
NVDA on my laptop, and it seems to be working as well as JAWS. A warm
"thank you" to the NVDA developers. They are a silver lining on an
otherwise Black Capitalist Cloud.
Carl Jarvis(still looking for a pot of kindness at the end of the rainbow)
On 7/14/19, Mostafa <ebob824@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello everyone, I hope you are keeping really well. Loosely, Freedom
scientific is by far the largest manufacturer of assistive technology
solutions for those who are blind or visually impaired. Moreover, it
is the primal developer and unique provider of the broadly recognised
screen reading solution, Jaws for Windows. I don’t think I need to
explain what Jaws is. It is known worldwide. Nonetheless, in the
recent years, Jaws has been coerced to enter a tallying rivalry.
Subsequent to the development and mass embracement of the concept of
free screen readers, the trait of merchandising Jaws globally has been
substantially lowered. Many people became more interested in free
screen readers solution. I certainly do not destine to promote
something in particular on that regard. Nonetheless, I’d aim to argue
for the affirmative, as to the necessity to dispose of this immense
illusion, that Jaws is invincible. People have been manipulated to
incorrectly assume, that major computer tasks are undone properly
unless you use Jaws. This is a biased standpoint. I have shifted to
free screen readers and I am quite satisfied with their brilliant
outcome. I simply am carrying on all primal computer chores. At work
and home, I conveniently interact with various applications. The
question I have for Freedom Scientific affiliates, why would I spend
thousands of dollars on a license of a software that is now utterly
contested and possibly rather surmounted? Freedom Scientific regularly
releases consecutive versions, to somewhat compel the user to upgrade
frequently, so they could keep their profit margin on the rise. The
right to freely access information is unexclusive and it has to be
supremely prioritised. Moreover, purchasing Jaws is absolutely
unaffordable for many people, especially, those who permanently reside
in developing nations. The concept of open source screen readers is
intemperately advocated for from ethical perspective. Freedom
Scientific takes advantage of the Jaws stereotype, so they could sell
further licenses and extend their technological ascendancy per say, as
farther as they possibly could. Their marketing team convinces
colleges, that in order for their visually impaired students to
perform well, they must buy Jaws for them. Thence, Freedom Scientific
essentially relies on orders given by enormous organisations, as of
colleges, popular associations for the blind et cetera. However, if
they would have relied on the actual user, they may have ended up
losing a fortune. Also, the concept of open source screen readers is a
decent alternative to get rid of the moral crisis of tolerating
software piracy. I unfortunately used to be one of those who copied
and used Jaws illicitly. I reposed my conscience for quite awhile.
Now, I determined to stop doing that. I was one of those who were
quite cozened about Jaws and its unvanquishable stance. I urge Freedom
Scientific staff to sternly redress their current situation. Despite
its popularity, Jaws is factually now clobbered with unrestricted
alternatives. People at Freedom Scientific must recognise this reality
and deal with it. Many people including myself, do not have the motive
to buy Jaws, as long as its free counterpart is constantly available.
It makes everything beautifully accessible, just like Jaws and
possibly even better. So, the logical question here is, why would I
buy Jaws, even in the theoretical instance of affording it, if I could
equally cope with demands executing plenty of free alternatives? This
question is gravely valid. I keenly await responses from Freedom
Scientific staff to argue their case and attempt to sustain their
proposition, that Jaws is practically unparalleled. I must mention
here, that I have been using Jaws for nearly fifteen years. I didn’t
catch any major difference when I switched to the unrestricted
substitute. Lastly, I truly thank each and everyone who has read my
message with sincere interest. I ultimately must assure all
recipients, that I didn’t covet to provoke or offend anyone with what
I said. It’s of individual preference to use whatever you’re
comfortable with. I just destined to state my opinion plainly. Thank
you for reading, cordially, Mustafa from Cairo Egypt.
