screen readers for free

Hi,

I hate to keep praising the virtues of Brookes University in Oxford, (well,
I don't really) but why pay when you can have one free? and not for a tiny
limited time either, it is about 10 weeks off becoming the final version, in
the mean time download the beta version @
http://www.brookes.ac.uk/schools/cms/research/speech/dload1.htm

Interestingly enough I was asked this week if I would support a
movement/campaign to the effect that text readers and speech browsers should
be provided free anyway for disabled people, is this living in a dream world
to expect this as standard? My initial reaction was the only people with
that sort of money or incentive is Microsoft or Netscape.

I wonder if that would have been a better compromise for the NFB/AOL debacle
last year, than the non agreement to do anything constructive that they
actually settled for? Could someone enlighten me, has anything actually
happened apart from sound bytes on that front or are the legal profession
currently sharpening claws?

I would have thought AOL could afford to make one page accessible and offer
a free text reader download, it could no doubt have been achievable for less
than the legal profession made out of the deal. After all if I can afford to
do it on ten-20 with a budget of 3 rice cakes and a snickers, surely the
likes of AOL could stump up the cash for the software? Or is this too
logical?

There is of course the argument corporate America (and everywhere else
corporate I hasten to add) does not wish to embrace the dodgy concept of
FREE anything!!??!! You can of course call it free providing it is priced
into another product. But free for free is not a welcome idea.

I like it however.

smiles
Paul Davis
http://www.ten-20.com The portal website for disabled people and associated
professionals.

Received on Wednesday, 11 July 2001 11:37:28 UTC