Re: Freedom Scientific's Lack of Support for Hardware
- From: Evelyn Weckerly <weckerly@xxxxxxx>
- To: jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2005 00:17:12 -0400
Hey, Guys,
They don't even have to do the work--just make it possible for someone else
to do it. I don't know if you are aware of the fact that they are making
their dealers sell their stuff and no competing products. Beyond Sight used
to carry Jaws but now cannot any more.
That is an example.
Two people who have been prominent in the adaptive technology field for
manyears told me that FS was having financial trouble, at least several
months ago, but they mentioned nothing of bankruptcy. One of those people
is very well know presently among many of us.
Evelyn
At 08:51 PM 6/15/05, you wrote:
>Just guessing here, but could it be that they support the top selling models
>and not the lesser ones? That would make sense to me.
>
>
>
>Thanks; Gene
>
>On MSN and Yahoo - guystevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Bruce Toews" <water_drinker@xxxxxxxx>
>To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 8:49 PM
>Subject: Re: Freedom Scientific's Lack of Support for Hardware
>
>
> > But the competition supports all the Focus displays. Not only that, but
> > unless I'm wrong, JAWS supports Kurzweil, a comparable product made by
> > competition.
> >
> > Bruce
> >
> > --
> > Bruce Toews
> > E-mail and MSN/Windows Messenger: water_drinker@xxxxxxxx
> > Web Site (including info on my weekly commentaries): http://www.ogts.net
> > Info on the Best TV Show of All Time: http://www.cornergas.com
> >
> > On Wed, 15 Jun 2005, Gene wrote:
> >
> >> No company I know of supports every piece of hardware that comes out. If
> >> FS
> >> has a product they think is comparable to the hardware in question then
> >> of
> >> course they aren't going to support something built by the competition.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Thanks; Gene
> >>
> >> On MSN and Yahoo - guystevens@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >>
> >>
> >> ----- Original Message -----
> >> From: "Wil James" <wil@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> To: <jfw@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> >> Sent: Wednesday, June 15, 2005 7:48 PM
> >> Subject: Freedom Scientific's Lack of Support for Hardware
> >>
> >>
> >>> This makes no sense to me in any way, shape, fashion, or form. Let me
> >>> set up the context for you.
> >>>
> >>> Someone wrote on the GW Micro list about the Braille Sense, the newesst
> >>> PDA from GW Micro, inquiring about a driver for JAWS to work with its
> >>> braille display. I was shocked to see the below response. This is
> >>> directly from Doug Geoffray.
> >>>
> >>> Begin Quote
> >>> Hello Robert,
> >>>
> >>> I'm very glad you asked this question. This has generated great
> >>> frustration for me.
> >>>
> >>> With Window-Eyes, our philosophy is to support as many synthesizers and
> >>> as
> >>> many braille displays as possible. Even if this means we need to
> >>> support
> >>> products from competing companies. It just seems so clear in my mind
> >>> that
> >>> this is the only approach.
> >>>
> >>> However, Freedom Scientific obviously doesn't feel as I do about
> >>> this. HIMS had contacted Freedom Scientific several months ago
> >>> regarding
> >>> the ability to create a JAWS driver for the Braille Sense. Freedom
> >>> Scientific never responded. Thinking I had a better relationship with
> >>> Freedom, I decided to send an email to Eric Damery directly regarding
> >>> this. Like HIMS, I never got a response. A couple weeks ago I saw Eric
> >>> in
> >>> person and asked him about this... He said he would get back with me by
> >>>
> >>> the end of the week with what I needed. Well, I did hear back in email
> >>> at
> >>> the end of the week but it wasn't what I needed. Let me quote Eric's
> >>> official response:
> >>>
> >>> "At this time, we don't feel it makes good business sense for Freedom
> >>> Scientific to work with HIMS or their Distributors to provide the
> >>> necessary
> >>> specification or support the development of a driver to be used by JAWS
> >>> for
> >>> Windows."
> >>>
> >>> This just blew me away. Since the beginning of Freedom Scientific all I
> >>>
> >>> have heard is that this one stop shopping idea is best for the
> >>> user. Creating one company that handles all products for all blind and
> >>> visually impaired users is only going to help the industry and of course
> >>>
> >>> blind people. Well, all I have seen are prices going up and fear of
> >>> competition and anything that can be done to squash competition even if
> >>> that means not giving existing and future JAWS users access to all their
> >>>
> >>> options. Options such as the Braille Sense.
> >>>
> >>> Keep in mind that with Window-Eyes we, meaning GW Micro, create all the
> >>> synthesizer and braille drivers ourselves. With JAWS, the drivers are
> >>> not
> >>> written by Freedom Scientific but usually the manufacturer of the
> >>> device. So for the Braille Sense, we are not asking Freedom Scientific
> >>> to
> >>> create the driver, we are asking for the development kit they already
> >>> have
> >>> which documents how the driver should be written to interface into
> >>> JAWS. Bottom line, there is no extra work on Freedom's part to create
> >>> this
> >>> driver. We will do that. But they refuse to give us the existing
> >>> necessary information simply because it competes with their PACMate
> >>> which
> >>> has been struggling.
> >>>
> >>> My frustration is that Freedom Scientific has grown so big and arrogant
> >>> that they can turn their back on blind users simply for a buck.
> >>>
> >>> So Robert, to answer your question specifically. We would love to
> >>> create a
> >>> JAWS driver for the Braille Sense. But Freedom Scientific is tieing our
> >>>
> >>> hands because they feel threatened by the Braille Sense.
> >>> End Quote
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> -------------------------------------
> >>> This message was written and composed on the Pac mate.
> >>> --------------------------------------
> >>> Visit my blog at
> >>> http://wil.wilanddenise.com
> >>> ------------------------------
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> --
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> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
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