From: "John Heim" <jheim@math.wisc.edu>
To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Subject: Re: Software speech opinions
Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2007 11:28:10 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <048d01c7b80e$fc568510$4ba65c90@vv507j> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <00af01c7b7b4$12296ed0$ab00a8c0@tenstac>
----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Sutherland" <doug@proficio.ca>
To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 12:37 AM
Subject: Re: Software speech opinions
>I made no mention of corporations, they go for where the huge
> bucks are, but what I was saying is that there may be a more
> indirect relation, to things like insurance. In any event, there is
> something seriously wrong with the assistive tech market as a
> whole. I used to have a huge collection of links to assistive
> tech of all kinds. Check out some of these prices as just one
> example.
>
> https://www.assistivetech.com/cgi/shopper.cgi
>
> A six foot wheelchair joystick cable is $109. A lightwriter
> with dectalk voices is $4425. Something is not right.
I was looking into the cost of braille displays a few weeks ago and was
shocked at the prices. But what makes you think these prices are out of
line? I mean, maybe it just costs that much per unit because of the low
volume. If you figure in R&D costs, support costs, and manufacturing costs,
maybe it just costs that much. If not, then why doesn't somebody put out a
$1000 braille display and wipe out the competition?
Admittedly, I can see a point on the other side too. We all believe in
capitalism but corporations exist in the real world too. There is an ethical
contradiction in our society where corporations get legal status as a person
but nobody expects them to act morrally. In fact, in some circles, if you
say corporations should behave as if they have a concience, you're passed
off as a crazy liberal.
We don't praise a human being for devoting all of his time and all of his
energy toward making money. But the mere suggestion that a corporation might
devote some of it's resources toward something other than making money is
considered crazy. But if a corporation is going to be given the right to
free speech, for example, then why is it unfair to expect it to have a
concience as well?
next prev parent reply other threads:[~ UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 34+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
Keith Hinton
` Jan Buchal
` Doug Sutherland
` Gaijin
` Doug Sutherland
` C.M. Brannon
` Travis Siegel
` Glenn Ervin
` Doug Sutherland
` Gaijin
` Gregory Nowak
` Gaijin
` Doug Smith
` Doug Sutherland
` Gaijin
` Glenn Ervin
` Doug Sutherland
` Glenn Ervin
` Steve Holmes
[not found] ` <20070626042409.GA25331@cm.nu>
` Glenn Ervin
` John Heim
` Albert E. Sten-Clanton
` John Heim
` Glenn Ervin
` Scott Berry
` John Heim
` Scott Berry
` Albert E. Sten-Clanton
` Doug Sutherland
` Doug Sutherland
` Glenn Ervin
` John Heim [this message]
` Butch Bussen
` John Heim
Reply instructions:
You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:
* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
and reply-to-all from there: mbox
Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style
* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
switches of git-send-email(1):
git send-email \
--in-reply-to='048d01c7b80e$fc568510$4ba65c90@vv507j' \
--to=jheim@math.wisc.edu \
--cc=speakup@braille.uwo.ca \
/path/to/YOUR_REPLY
https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html
* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line
before the message body.
This is a public inbox, see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox;
as well as URLs for read-only IMAP folder(s) and NNTP newsgroup(s).