Re: some comments on software platform accessibility

[Bill Gaughan <wgaughan@snet.net>]

Hello,

Thank you for your comments. I see from your e-mail address that you are
from Finnland. I am from the USA. Here in the states, training centers for
the blind never heard of linux. Linux is a foreign word to them. The only
thing they know is speech with eloquence and Jaws For Windows. The only
networking that big businesses in the states seem to know these days is
Windows NT, unless they are small ISP's. But, with DSL and cable modems
taking over here in the USA, small ISP's are being pushed out of business
by big cable and telephone companies. It's the way they have the pricing
structured around here. For example, to get DSL here you need to pay your
telephone company that provides you with local service for your DSL
connection. Then they will usually give you your ISP connection for free
because you are paying them for the digital DSL service on your local
phone line with your local service. Here in my local area, DSL is $49.00 a
month. Now, if you go to an outside provider, an ISP who provides DSL,
they will usually charge you $10 to $15 monthly for an IP address. But,
you still have to pay your local phone company for the DSL connection, not
your ISP. So, when the phone company gives you an ip address for free,
what are you going to do? You are more than likely going to drop your old
ISP and save yourself $15 a month. Right?

I am happy to see that Europe is more progressive in how it approaches
technology. Thank you for sharing this information with us.

-- 
Bill Gaughan
wgaughan@snet.net


On Thu, 6 Dec 2001, Ari Moisio wrote:

> Hi!
>
>   Comments on comments:
>
>   First there is lot of job opportunities within file, mail and
> webserver maintenance. MOst of those use some *x operating system. Most
> of those have no configuration interface, just a bunch of text files to
> edit. No menus, no buttons, no dialogues, no bitmaps, no images and no
> accessibility problems.
>
>   Secondly: ever after learnign windows and all tricks of his/her
> screenreader with every program used blind worker should be equally or
> more productive than sighted colleagues who can sinply look the screen.
>
>   This difference exists of ccourse in *x environment too but there it
> is mainly reading speed, not figuring layout of the screen.
>
>   As a sidenote:  local training center for the blind planned to keep
> course on Linux but they had severe problems to find a teacher; all
> blind  advanced LInux users they askedwere too busy with their own jobs.
>
>   Fortunately they found finally one who volunteered because it was
> Linux course.
>
>