[tabi] Fw: [Trainer-talk] My Further Predictions about the GW Micro Window-eyes for Office announcement
- From: "Easy Talk" <Easytalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 18 Jan 2014 09:02:44 -0500
----- Original Message -----
From: Raul A. Gallegos
To: GW WE Beta List
Sent: Thursday, January 16, 2014 4:50 PM
Subject: Fwd: [Trainer-talk] My Further Predictions about the GW Micro
Window-eyes for Office announcement
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Begin forwarded message:
From: David Goldfield <disciple1211@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: January 16, 2014 at 3:35:06 PM CST
To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
<trainer-talk@xxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Trainer-talk] My Further Predictions about the GW Micro Window-eyes
for Office announcement
Reply-To: List for teachers and trainers of adaptive technology
<trainer-talk@xxxxxxxxxx>
I have to confess that I've been doing a great deal of thinking about this
latest announcement from GW Micro and Microsoft. Of course, I'm pleased about
this and I think it will produce great results for consumers, even though it
will turn the industry on its head. Like most of us in the field, I wanted to
know the deeper picture, the why behind the what, and we certainly won't know
very much of that, at least right now. However, after listening to the
majority of the recent press conference, I've been trying to connect the dots
and I have a reasonable guess as to what we're going to be seeing in the next
six to eight months. At this point, I want to stress that my predictions are
not, in any way, based on insider information or on second-hand rumors. If I
happen to be wrong, I don't want any organizations contacting me, accusing me
of slander or starting rumors, as this is not my intent. If I happen to be
right, what I'm about to write is just a set of reasonable conclusions and
nothing more. I'm just a user of a.t. technology, coming up with what I think
is a pretty good guess as to what may be happening behind the scenes, in much
the same way that writers of mainstream tech magazines write analyses of
product announcements in an attempt to predict future trends or other
possibilities.
First, let's examine some intriguing comments made during the press
conference. A questioner asked several things: how does giving away the
flagship product affect GW Micro, if GW Micro was getting something from
Microsoft, as well as whether GW Micro might be steering toward being a
nonprofit company. The response was, and I'm paraphrasing, that these are good
questions and we'll have a better indication of the answers in six months. Dan
Wehrich (sp) also implied that this partnership allowed GW Micro to do this.
During another response, Dan said that GW Micro doesn't make screen readers
for phones but said that they would be open to other possibilities, or words to
that effect. Examining these responses, here's what I think is happening
behind the scenes.
1. GW Micro is indeed being paid by Microsoft.
2. GW Micro is working on a new screen reader, a version of Window-eyes
specifically designed for the Windows Phone operating system.
3. JAWS is likely dominating the market when it comes to screen reader
usage. If my last statement is correct, GW Micro can now afford to give away
their flagship product, if they indeed are being presented with a very
comfortable financial cushion from one of the most stable and richest software
giants on the planet. This move places a rather bright spotlight on GW Micro,
allowing their user base to grow at a much larger rate without having them
become bankrupt in the process. They'll also be able to make up for some of the
losses by offering support and extra synthesizers.
4. Window-eyes for Windows Phone will be released in six to eight months.
It will either be free or extremely affordable, but likely it will cost users
nothing. If there is a cost, Microsoft may set up a system, allowing blind
consumers to buy specific phones for them, in exchange for a free copy of
Window-eyes for their phone.
5. As I've indicated in a previous message, Freedom Scientific will attempt
to compete but won't do it in precisely the same way, as I think they will
resist giving the full JAWS package away at no cost. They will either produce
a lighter, stripped-down version for free or for a reduced cost or they will
implement a subscription service, allowing users to essentially rent the
software on a monthly or annual basis.
My thoughts on this have nothing to do with whether I like JAWS less than
Window-eyes or whether I prefer window-eyes over JAWS. However, I think this is
a reasonable, if not likely scenario. David Andrews correctly summarized the
state of Microsoft's accessibility initiatives in a previous message. They're
improving with Narrator and their accessibility helpline is getting rave
reviews and high praise, but they're still struggling. I believe that this
partnership we're seeing is Microsoft's way of branching out, tapping into some
additional resources to add even more accessibility into their products. They
certainly know that it's needed for windows Phone. My final prediction is that
we're going to see some major restructuring going on at GW Micro, perhaps
something as radical as them becoming the official accessibility arm or hub of
Microsoft.
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