Ray you have no idea what it feels like to be held to ransom at every turn - with products to "aid" disability I mean. I try to keep my own purchases to a minimum but do require certain adaptive products to make life easier. It is a constant battle though, not only to find the products I need, but also at a price I can afford. Sure help is available from charities but that is a minefield in itself as people on this list know... So it's a case of paying up and looking happy about it. I suppose the case firms use to justify high prices for adaptive technology/products is its comparative scale. The nature of production means that greater numbers equals cheaper costs. So those of us who need to use items that only have relatively few consumers have to pay the price for that. I detest it, believe me, and every time it happens I feel I'm being ripped off, but it's hard to imagine a different economic rule.
All the best. Lynda----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray's Home" <rays-home@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 8:28 PM Subject: [access-uk] Re: More on KNFB reader for phones
hardly know who and what to reply to on this thread, (smile)! Let's complicate it further still. Why not a download of the software? Were that possible none of the arguments about shipping costs, insurance, or possible snagging by customs should apply. Sure, if a download were to be made available, which I'm certain won't happen, some sort of UK and/or Euro charge would have to be added. Where's the problem in that though, given that other US software vendors manage to get their heads round it? Still, commercial self interest and even greed will se to it that we don't get such a logical solution to the software only option. I believe that we would find that if some consumer organisation or the dear old Beeb were to get their investigative teeth into this issue of over pricing of Uk distribution then we'd find we as VI people have a good deal in common with other disabled people with different needs regarding this laid-back attitude of let it rip on the part of distributors and resellers here. It seems a lazy bone idle way of earning a living to me simply to wind up prices to the level that they drag in what ever the vendor think they should be getting. Far better if they devoted their efforts towards so called 'service' and genuine, high quality training and support than a simple one off take the money and run service we all too often end up with. Why are disability products and services so immune from regulation and investigation by those who devote so much time to the price of car imports and the like? Please note too, I'm not questioning the need of developers to earn a return, but rather the smart arse way in which this product is channelled in distribution through one distributor where price fixing and lack of accountability to anyone, except maybe private share holders, is entirely lacking. I might also add, maybe unfashionably, that our beloved charities are too taken with playing 'business' to consider an a subsidy or even a cheap loan to make such an obviously enabling piece of tech more widely available. The US launch did suggest to me that the audience was stuffed with more than a few NFB members, Ms. Kendrick being one of those. I'll leave it as an open question as to the American NfB's role in financing and getting this valuable innovation onto the agenda, but we do have a potentially, maybe actually, rather murky if not mucky relationship of charity and business and the Lord only knows whether anyone will get around to investigating that one! From Ray I can be contacted off-list at: mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- Steve Nutt Subject: [access-uk] Re: More on KNFB reader for phones Hi Gary, Restriction is the right word here. No-one can resell KNFB Readers in this country, except S and S, so the pricing is then fixed. If KNFB would open it up to other resellers, it could get more interesting. All the best Steve -----Original Message----- From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Gary Robinson Sent: Sunday 3 February 2008 11:38 To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [access-uk] Re: More on KNFB reader for phones Hi Ray, yes I must admit it's almost worth downloading just to listen to the audience, thought it was a warm up for a Jerry Springer show! Certainly isn't like that at Sight Village! So far as the cost of the software in the UK is concerned retailers will charge whatever they think they can get away with and in a single product marketplace where the retail outlets are tightly controlled by the supplier then they can more or less do what they like. Two things strike me about the UK market in access technology, one is why there is no "bulk buying" by not for profit organizations and secondly why we haven't seen any evidence of Office of fair trading/DTI investigations into the restrictions which overseas suppliers impose on European distributors/retailers into how they can sell the product. I suspect this latter point is behind much of the problem and I must admit that given the American NFB involvement in this product I am surprised it is happening in this case. Don't get me wrong, retailers must make a reasonable profit, on the whole I think commercial retailers do a better job than some of the not for profit organizations as they tend to be more "real world" orientated, but we seem to be stuck in a low volume high price market place which is in itself regressive. I don't entirely agree with those who attempt to justify the high prices by saying its a small market. The size of the market is in my mind artificially reduced by the high cost of the products which puts off many potential buyers or indeed charitable organizations who say not unreasonably "how can we justify spending so much money on helping just one individual". Gary ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ray's Home" <rays-home@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 12:53 AM Subject: [access-uk] Re: More on KNFB reader for phonesWell, I've heard all 68 minutes or so of the presentation on theKNFBembedded cell phone reader, and the listening is interesting formorethan the obvious reasons. Before I say more, some quick jump to points might be good for those who cannot waite to get to the meat. 23 minutes in givbes you Ray Kurtzveil's intro and future gazing -andhe's known as a futureologist. Things like image and object recognition improvements, including, he claims, faces. thirty minutes in or so, main presentation of what the present software does, and demos of it working on text, to tremendousraptureby the audience. 50 minutes: Question time, including cost of software and phoneetc.and where Americans can buy. Speaking mostly from emory interesting points are the reader willworkin a phone without a screen reader, and one that's not activated. Very good Screen enlargement is also there too for those with some sight,. Good help and keyboard guidance built-in, and presenter believes the reader software should be usable with very minimal training for many if not most people. The phone itself (Nokia n82) measures 4" x 2" x1" thick, and weighsinat 4 oz.in Its said to be very tacktile and the keys more identifiable than many. Sells for $500 or less in the US. Hasbuiltin GPS MP3 player, and high quality camera of course. I say allthisto give some idea of what those fortunate enough to have the doshwillget in the phone itself. The software, to be much improved on, turns out to cost $1595.00 in the US. Now, here's where we come to that pricing issue again.thatwould equate to a straight UK conversionof less than ?800.00. So,whycannot we have it for less than ?100.00? Say ?950.00 for reading anywhere! What a sales point that could be for those who can pushthepoat out? AS opposed to rather more than that, seemingly. Not sure a UK audience or consumers are going to be quite sorapturedand take the message to the country as they're encouaged to do intheUS! The demo or presentation indeed had more the flavour of a revivalist meeting, with sounding horn, and loads of shrieking and applause. Maybe a sort of primary? Not without good reason! I only wish potential UK buyers had as much to shout about. AS itisthe software, as I say, is going for $1595.00, so God knows what the 37 dealers there actually pay for it. Or what our sole distributer pays for it, come to that. I'll bet is less than $1595.00. Okay,sobusiness is about profit; yes, I've got that message. When does profit turn to greed and extortion? Sorry folks, but yes, you can have a marvel of a device here, which can only get better. You'llpaymuch more dearly for it than folks across the Atlantic. Unlike them too, you won't be accessing a 3 per cent loan to help buy it. Thatinitself would be a good idea, but not sure why anyone should help bolster an already ludicrus profit margin. Those remarks aside, I do urge anyone who's not heard the launch of the KNFB cell phone reader to go on over to: http://www.blindbargains.com/redirect.php?redirect=2614 And download or simply listen to the file. Cheers, From Ray I can be contacted off-list at: mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- Steve Nutt Subject: [access-uk] Re: More on KNFB reader for phones Hi Ray, Well James Everson of Sight And Sound is on this list, so I would be very interested in his comments on this. As a reseller of adaptive tech,Itoo feel this is overpricing, even allowing for overheads. All the best Steve -----Original Message----- Ray's Home Subject: [access-uk] Re: More on KNFB reader for phones Paul, the 'over-inflated' UK price is more worthy of a post from me! (smile). Think the difference is three or four hundred quid! Presume there's no training being offered if you buy the software alone, as surely some will want to do. So, where exactly is the support and whatever in that? Sure many would like to pay rather less than a thousand quid for the software, if only they could! Wouldn't be so concerned if this was more obviously another leaningonAccess to work provision, but we're talking enhancing of daillylivinghere. This makes it look very like extortion to me. I'd dearly like to see a defence of this, but as we often say here, I'm not holding my breath! Cheers, From Ray I can be contacted off-list at: mailto:ray-48@xxxxxxxx -----Original Message----- Paul Leake Subject: [access-uk] Re: More on KNFB reader for phones an interesting presentation and an intention to continue to develop the product for the future. Pity that the u k price seems over inflated though! Cheers Paul paul.leake@xxxxxxxxxxxx ----- Original Message ----- From: "Steve Nutt" <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2008 5:51 PM Subject: [access-uk] More on KNFB reader for phonesHi folks, Take a look, or should I say a listen, to this file. You candownload itfrom:- http://www.blindbargains.com/redirect.php?redirect=2614 All the best** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe] ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to: ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ** and in the Subject line type ** unsubscribe ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the ** immediately-following link:- ** [mailto:access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq] ** or send a message, to ** access-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
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