From: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org (David Tanner)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: comments from syntha-
Date: 14 Oct 92 15:29:56 GMT
Reply-To: David.Tanner@f168.n129.z1.fidonet.org
Organization: FidoNet node 1:129/168 - Braille Bank BBS, Pittsburgh PA
X-Fidonet: Blink Talk Conference
Originator: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com

Index Number: 24970

[This is from the Blink Talk Conference]

Well, I don't know that business isn't changing to Windows.  It
certainly seems to be attracting an enormous amount of attention.
It seems hard to believe that over 50% of the articles in all the
PC professional magazines would be concerned with Windows if there
weren't a lot of people changing.

I think that if you looked at the volume of Windows software that
has been sold in the past two years you would be very surprised at
the amount considering that prior to  early 1991 Windows really
wasn't considered a viable option because it was too buggie.

As to the price of Window Bridge, I would agree that the price is
high, but based upon the amount of work it takes a developer to
make a software that is going to work for a blind person in the
graphical environment the price probably really isn't out of line
with the cost of developing the software and paying a programmer
etc.  Sure I would like a cheaper price, and I can't afford Window
Bridge myself.  I have access to Window Bridge because my
department at work purchased it, and I will be using it a lot in my
new job with AT&T.  But, for the blind person in a job where it is
the software being used there must be a way to access the graphical
user interface or they will loose their job.  If you can do
everything that you need to do in the MS DOS environment then I
don't blame you for not being interested in changing to the Windows
or OS2 operating system and having to learn everything over.

The whole point isn't to attempt to force a person to use what they
do not need, but to make available to the person who needs Windows
or OS2 access the ability to access those operating environments so
that they do not get penalized because they can't access them.

Finally, if indeed access to the Windows environment is not
important then I would wonder why several of the magor speech
producers are working very hard to come out with versions of their
software that can access that environment.  In speaking with the
president of one of the top speech software companies today he
stated that he has one programmer working exclusively on that every
day of every week.  He also stated that they plan on having a rough
demo of their Windows product ready to be demonstrated at Closing
The Gap in October.  I am afraid that there are other influences at
work in the general computer field that are going to govern how
much further MS DOS will go also.  So, I would only say that if you
don't need Windows now that you should wait till the time comes
that you feel the need to make the move to Windows or whatever is
the best when the time comes when you decide to make the move.
There are still people using Apple IIe and Comodore 64s, but they
are not the majority any more.  And, producers and professionals in
the access technology must attempt to keep up with the changes in
order to serve the demands of a changing technology that is much
more graphical now than it was a year or two ago.
D. T.

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