Re: Raise the Jolly Roger!

[aaron@kitten.net.au (Aaron Howell)]

In article <1106878008.232167.86540@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
 <carbide@egine.com> wrote:
>
>Sean Fahey wrote:
>
>>
>> The people I spoke about who are still using the Apple II out of
>necessity
>> are generally users who have special needs - blind, mobility issues,
>etc. -
>> people who are used to how something works, but aren't prepared to
>learn
>> something new.... as one of the last Apple II people in my area, I
>get the
>> calls from folks who need help or parts for these machines. As it
>turns out,
>> the new speech and mobility gear, unless granted or provided by
>special
>> programs is incredibly expensive so some of people (especially older
>folks)
>> are still using their faithful Apple II.
>
>I have no specific knowledge of that, but it sounds VERY far-fetched to
>me. I'm in high tech. It just gets better and cheaper. 
>-Paul
>
Actually, he's right.
Its still possible to buy a speech synthesizer for the a2 series (excluding the //c) for under us$50.
Then you need Textalker or Textalker GS  (which is unfortunately no longer available legally
but when it was went for around us$50 also).
So, you could have a very decent gs compatible speech solution which talked a wide variety of applications for under us$100.
Now, while its true that Windows 2000/XP include Narrator built in,
its not a usable screen reader for day to day work, (being designed with the idea of providing just enough speech access to get your real screen reader installed).
So, that means, in order to run Windows, you have to purchase one of the commercially available screen readers.
If you're happy with Win98/ME, then you start at US$595. If you need 2000/XP, then you start at US$795,
and that's without taking into account any hardware.
Of course, there are open source solutions which provide full console access to Linux, and limited access to X (gnome only and even then only some applications),
but that's a fairly serious shift in paradigm when coming from the Apple 2, and its a pretty steep learning curve for your mum and dad type user.
So you can imagine why sticking with something that you know, and something that works well, might be an attractive proposition for those on fixed income.
Even with money aside, for older users who are comfortable with their Apples, which do everything they need them to, there is little attraction in moving to the crash-prone, difficult to navigate environment of Windows.
Regards
Aaron