[gps-talkusers] Re: what do you think about this
- From: "Baracco, Andrew W" <Andrew.Baracco@xxxxxx>
- To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 09:55:24 -0800
I really like the philosophy stated below, and am trying to implement it
wherever possible. I have concerns about the accuracy of some of the
statements, but I know what he is saying about clinging to legacy
solutions. I work for the Federal government, and we are still using
Windows XP, and only migrated recently from IE 6 to 7.
Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Cheree Heppe
Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 2010 12:01 AM
To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [gps-talkusers] what do you think about this
(Begin forwarded message)
Subject: [leadership] Serotek declares war on the traditional
> adaptivetechnology industry and their blind ghetto products
>
>
> This is no warm fuzzy of a read, but something well worth the read and
in my
> opinion long over due. Kudos to SeroTek.
>
> Richard
> ***
> Cited from http://blog.serotek.com/
> The Serotek Ultimatum
> Serotek declares war on the traditional adaptive technology industry
and
> their blind ghetto products. With this announcement we are sending out
a
> call to arms to every blind person and every advocate for the blind to
rise
> up and throw off the tyranny that has shaped our lives for the past
two
> decades. It is a tyranny of good intentions - or at least what began
as good
> intentions. But as the proverb says, "the road to hell is paved with
good
> intentions." And for the past two decades the technologies originally
> conceived to give us freedom have been our shackles. They have kept us
tied
> down to underperforming, obscenely expensive approaches that only a
small
> percentage of blind people can afford or master. They have shackled us
to
> government largess and the charity of strangers to pay for what few
among us
> could afford on our own. And we have been sheep, lead down the path,
> bleating from time to time, but without the vision or the resources to
stand
> up and demand our due.
> That time is past.
> We stand today on the very edge of universal accessibility. Mainstream
> products like the iPod, iPhone, and newly announced iPad are fully
> accessible out of the box. And they bring with them a wealth of highly
> desirable accessibility applications. The cost to blind people is
exactly
> the same as the cost to sighted people. It's the same equipment, the
same
> software, the same functionality, and fully accessible.
> What Apple has done, others are doing as well. The adaptive technology
> vendor who creates hardware and software that is intended only for
blind
> folks, and then only if they are subsidized by the government, is a
> dinosaur. The asteroid has hit the earth, the dust cloud is
ubiquitous, the
> dinosaur's days are numbered.
> But dinosaurs are huge, and their extinction does not happen
overnight..
> Even as they die, they spawn others like them (take the Intel Reader
for
> example). Thank you, no. Any blind person can have full accessibility
to any
> type of information without the high-cost, blind-ghetto gear. They can
get
> it in the same products their sighted friends are buying. But let's
face it;
> if we keep buying that crap and keep besieging our visual resource
center to
> buy that crap for us, the dinosaurs of the industry are going to keep
making
> it. Their profit margins are very good indeed. And many have invested
> exactly none of that profit in creating the next generation of access
> technology, choosing instead to perpetuate the status quo. For
instance,
> refreshable braille technology, arguably the most expensive
> blindness-specific(and to many very necessary) product has not changed
> significantly in 30 years. Yet, the cost remains out of reach for most
blind
> people. Where's the innovation there? Why have companies not invested
in
> cheaper, faster, smaller, and more efficient ways to make refreshable
> braille? Surely the piezoelectric braille cell is not the only way?
And what
> about PC-based OCR software? It's still around a thousand dollars per
> license, yet core functionality hasn't changed much; sure, we get all
sorts
> of features not at all related to reading, along with incremental
accuracy
> improvements, but why are these prices not dropping either, especially
when
> you consider that comparable off-the-shelf solutions like Abby
Finereader
> can be had for as low as $79? ? And let's not forget the screen reader
> itself, the core technology that all of us need to access our
computers in
> the first place. Do we see improvements, or just an attempt to mimic
> innovation with the addition of features which have nothing to do with
the
> actual reading of the screen, while maintaining the same ridiculous
price
> point.
>
> This maintaining of the status quo will, inevitably, face an enormous
crash,
> worse than the transition from DOS to Windows based accessibility. You
can
> expect a technology crash that will put users of the most expensive
> accessibility gear out of business.
> Why? I won't bore you with all the technical details, but the basic
story is
> that some of these products have been kept current with patches and
fixes
> and partial rewrites and other tricks we IT types use when we haven't
got
> the budget to do it right, but we need to make the product work with
the
> latest operating system. That process of patching and fixing creates
an
> enormous legacy barrier that makes it impossible to rewrite without
> abandoning all who came before. But you can only keep a kluge working
for so
> long before it will crumble under its own weight. That, my friends, is
> exactly where some of the leading adaptive technology vendors find
> themselves today.
> There are exceptions. Serotek is an exception because we have
completely
> recreated our product base every three years. GW Micro is an exception
> because they built their product in a highly modular fashion and can
update
> modules without destroying the whole. KNFB is an exception because
they take
> advantage of off-the-shelf technologies, which translate ultimately
into
> price drops and increased functionality.
>
> But even we who have done it right are on a path to obsolescence. The
> fundamental need for accessibility software is rapidly beginning to
vanish.
> The universal accessibility principles we see Apple, Microsoft,
Olympus, and
> others putting in place are going to eliminate the need for these
specialty
> products in a matter of just a very few years.
> Stop and think. Why do you need accessibility tools? To read text?
E-book
> devices are eliminating that need. None of them are perfect yet, but
we are
> really only in the first generation. By Gen2 they will all be fully
> accessible. To find your way? GPS on your iPhone or your Android based
phone
> will do that for you. To take notes? Easy on any laptop, netbook, or
iPad.
> Heck, you can record it live and play it back at your convenience.
Just what
> isn't accessible? You can play your music, catch a described video,
scan a
> spreadsheet, take in a PowerPoint presentation - all using
conventional,
> off-the-shelf systems and/or software that is free of charge.
> There are still some legacy situations where you need to create an
> accessibility path. Some corporations still have internal applications
that
> do not lend themselves to modern devices. There will certainly be
situations
> where a specialized product will better solve an accessibility problem
than
> a mainstream one, especially in the short term. We don't advocate
throwing
> the baby out with the bathwater, but we do advocate that we begin to
hasten
> the inevitable change by using accessible mainstream solutions
wherever
> possible. Even now, the leading edge companies are reinventing their
> internal systems with accessibility as a design criteria, so the
situations
> that require specialized products will certainly become fewer as time
goes
> on.
> If our current Assistive technology guard's reign is coming to an end,
why
> the war? Why not just let it die its own, natural, inevitable death?
Because
> nothing dies more slowly than an obsolete technology. Punch cards hung
on
> for twenty or thirty years after they were completely obsolete. The
same is
> true for magnetic tape. Old stuff represents a comparatively large
> investment, and people hate to throw away something they paid a lot of
money
> for even if it's currently worthless. But that legacy stuff obscures
the
> capabilities of the present. It gets used in situations where other
> solutions are cheaper and more practical. The legacy stuff clogs the
> vocational rehab channel, eating up the lion's share of the resources
but
> serving a tiny portion of the need. It gets grandfathered into
contracts. It
> gets specified when there is no earthly reason why the application
requires
> it. The legacy stuff slows down the dawning of a fully accessible
world.
> It hurts you and it hurts me.
> To be sure, I make my living creating and selling products that make
our
> world accessible. But first and foremost, I am a blind person. I am
one of
> you. And every day I face the same accessibility challenges you face.
I have
> dedicated my life and my company to making the world more accessible
for all
> of us, but I can't do it alone. This is a challenge that every blind
person
> needs to take up. We need to shout from the rooftops: "Enough!"
> We need to commit ourselves in each and every situation to finding and
using
> the most accessible off the shelf tool and/or the least-cost, highest
> function accessibility tool available. With our dollars and our
commitment
> to making known that our needs and the needs of sighted people are 99%
the
> same, we can reshape this marketplace. We can drive the dinosaurs into
the
> tar pits and nurture those cute fuzzy little varmints that are
ancestors to
> the next generation. We can be part of the solution rather than part
of the
> problem.
> And all it takes is getting the best possible solution for your
specific
> need. Once you have found the solution to fill that need, let the
company
> know you appreciate their work towards better accessibility. Let your
> friends (sighted and blind) know about these accessibility features;
they
> probably don't know that such features exist.
> Make your needs known to the vocational rehab people you are working
with,
> and don't allow them to make recommendations for a specific technology
for
> no other reason than that it's been in the contract for years. Make
sure
> your schools and your workplace understand the need to push technology
in to
> the accessible space. Show them the low-cost alternatives. In this
economy
> some, the intelligent ones, will get it and the tide will begin to
turn.
> And then in short order the tsunami of good sense will wash away the
old,
> and give us the space to build a more accessible world for all of us.
Let
> the demand ring out loud and clear and the market will follow.
> If this message rings true to you, don't just shake your fist in
agreement
> and leave it at that. let your voice be heard! Arm yourself with the
vision
> of a future where there are no social, conceptual, or economic
barriers to
> accessibility, and let your words and your actions demonstrate that
you will
> not rest until that vision is realized. Take out your wallet and let
your
> consumer power shine! You do mater as a market people! You have kept
this
> company alive with your money for 8 years this month! I believe that
if we
> all get together and do our part, we will finally say "NO more!" same
old
> same old! Join the revolution! Together we can change the world!
> Posted by Mike Calvo at 2:15 PM 3 comments facebook Add to
del.icio.us
> Labels: Accessibility Is A Right, Apple, Blind Ghetto, community,
disruptive
> technology, GW Micro, Intel, Mike Calvo, rant, Serotek, System Access,
Unive
(End forwarded message)
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