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Re: FreedomScientific Vs. NvAccess

Carlos
 

I'm not going to turn this into a debate, but I agree.  As much as we might bemoan the cost of products like JAWS, it always has and always will come down to supply and demand.  JAWS is not free because if it were no one would get paid.  It is difficult for a product which requires specialized skills to develop to survive on donations alone.  NVDA manages in part because of the dedication of it's developer, but very few programmers or anyone for that matter, will be willing to work forever for almost nothing.

----- Original Message -----
From: Gene
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 10:33 PM
Subject: Re: [TechTalk] FreedomScientific Vs. NvAccess

Screen-readers you pay for are expensive because the customer base is so small.  If it were a large customer base, they would cost what you would expect complex programs to sell for in the general market.  As far as NVDA goes, NVDA gets grants from various companies and donations from users.  But one of the main reasons NVDA is free is because the main developer doesn't pay himself anywhere near what he would earn if he worked for an employer.  I've seen it stated on the NVDA users' list that he pays himself somewhere around minimum wage.  So one way or another, the price is high.  It's just that when it comes to NVDA, you don't see the price.  But those who work on NVDA for pay and those who do so as volunteers pay the price one way or another, in low wages or in donating time.  People love to castigate companies that charge for such products.  It doesn't seem to bother them that NVDA is free because people pay the price voluntarily.  That's there choice but it shouldn't be the case, as a matter of principle, that the people who work for pay on NVDA are paid so little. 
 
Gene
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 8:36 PM
Subject: [TechTalk] FreedomScientific Vs. NvAccess

Hi.  I really like NvAccess.  They have a fre screen reader.  You
can update the screen reader to the latest version for free.  On
the other hand, why does FreedomScientific make blind people to
pay thousands of dollars on JAWS? It is so high and so expensive. 
I still like Freedom Scientific, but I wish JAWS was free.

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