>> From the web page:
>>
>>http://www.businessweek.com/print/bwdaily/dnflash/feb2001/nf20010222_215.htm
>>
>>BusinessWeek Online:High Marks for Microsoft from the Disabled
>>
        >>FEBRUARY 22, 2001
>>
>>ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
>>By John M. Williams
>>
>>High Marks for Microsoft from the Disabled
>>
>>While some question its motives, Gates & Co. clearly understands the need
>>for all people to have access to computer technology
>>Back in the early '90s, I met Microsoft's Bill Gates at the Federal Office
>>Systems Exposition in Washington, D.C. We talked briefly about technology
>>that
>>helps the disabled. I was struck by his interest in this subject. He
>>wanted to know whether there was a market for assistive technology. You
>>can guess
>>what my answer was: Tens of millions of Americans -- many with
>>disabilities -- have proven that there is.
>>
>>Today, Microsoft is the biggest provider of accessibility technology to
>>the disabled community. The Colossus of Redmond includes easy-to-use
>>features such
>>as on-screen keyboards and text-to-speech software in all its consumer
>>operating systems. And Microsoft spends more on research and development
>>of software
>>and hardware that improves accessibility than IBM, Apple, or any other
>>corporation that works on this issue.
>>
>>PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.  Altruism? Perhaps. Gates and his family have long
>>played active roles in philanthropy, and he used his stock to create the
>>world's
>>richest charitable foundation. But the software mogul's views on assistive
>>technology also come from personal experience. According to Darren Kall,
>>the
>>program manager of the accessibility and disabilities group at Microsoft,
>>Gates got frustrated trying to communicate with an early Microsoft
>>employee who
>>was deaf. "This was a motivating factor in Gates' commitment to
>>accessibility issues for workers with disabilities," Kall says.
>>
>>But Microsoft's dedication to assistive technology is also a clear
>>instance of a business that hopes to do well by doing good. The company
>>recognizes that
>>computers are playing a more important role in our daily lives. It also
>>understands that aging Americans who rely on computers now won't want to
>>stop using
>>them later in life even if they can't type, see the screen clearly, or
>>hear an MP3 download at normal volume.
>>
>>So, Gates has shrewdly positioned his company to be a primary provider of
>>technology for people who have lived through the Information Age and can't
>>imagine
>>life without computers in their senior years. Being able to use computers
>>also could help older Americans earn money in the New Economy. Explains
>>Frank
>>G. Bowe, a New York disabilities advocate and college teacher who is deaf:
>>"Bill Gates, Steve Ballmer, and others at Microsoft saw business in the
>>aging
>>market and how adaptive technology can help workers with disabilities stay
>>competitive."
>>
>>OLDSTER AILMENTS.  Fact is, as the baby boomers become geezers,
>>disabilities related to age are the fastest-growing category in this
>>country. The ailments
>>span a wide range from arthritis, affecting mobility and dexterity, to
>>macular degeneration, impairing vision.
>>
>>Look at the statistics: Only 10% of people age 21 and younger have a
>>disability. That compares to 36% of people age 55 to 64, and 72% of people
>>older than
>>80. Today, about 25% more people in the U.S. have disabilities than a
>>decade ago. That tally should grow significantly each year, adding to the
>>54 million
>>Americans who have a disability right now, according to the Health & Human
>>Services Dept.
>>
>>Does that look like a booming market? Gates thinks so. That's why
>>Microsoft has assigned 50 people to work on developing assistive
>>technologies. The commitment
>>costs the company millions of dollars in manpower alone each year. These
>>job slots could just as easily be filled with programmers working on more
>>immediately
>>lucrative projects such as the next Windows operating system.
>>
>>Microsoft claims it makes money on disability products, although it won't
>>disclose how much. And it's unclear whether this profit comes from the
>>sale of
>>products specifically made for the disabled or from the sale of Windows
>>operating systems, which include features that make them easier to use for
>>the
>>disabled.
>>
>>LISTENING TO THE BLIND.  Advocates for the disability community say one of
>>Microsoft's strengths is that it works with disabled people as it develops
>>products
>>for them. "Microsoft has listened to blind people in developing software
>>accessibility," says William Bryant, 44, a blind vocational-rehabilitation
>>consultant
>>in Lexington, Ky. The company doesn't have to go far to get feedback,
>>either. Several members of its accessibility-technology team have
>>disabilities. Some
>>are visually impaired or deaf. Others have carpal tunnel syndrome or
>>learning disabilities.
>>
>>Microsoft also is adding value beyond the design of its own accessibility
>>technology, creating an online hub (
>>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/)
>>for people seeking information about assistive technology and businesses
>>trying to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The hub also
>>provides
>>an e-commerce platform where other accessibility products that work with
>>Windows are on display. Microsoft collaborates with many of these
>>companies to
>>maximize their products' compatibility with Windows. Naturally, the hub
>>was coded and especially designed to accommodate screen-reading-software
>>programs
>>and other tools that disabled individuals use to surf the Internet.
>>
>>Yes, the Redmond giant's dominance in the accessibility market frightens
>>some. "Microsoft's ubiquity in the accessibility field worries me. If it
>>keeps
>>moving into all the disability-technology fields, it can strangle all the
>>manufacturers," say Bill Horton, 41, a blind consultant from Chicago.
>>That's
>>a valid concern. Whether in operating systems or Internet browsers,
>>Microsoft has strived for a total dominance that may have stifled
>>competition (certainly,
>>Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, who ruled against Microsoft in the landmark
>>antitrust suit brought by the Justice Dept., would concur).
>>
>>SCARED OFF?  Still, so far, the company has been a model citizen in the
>>assistive-technology field. But its actions in this area should be closely
>>monitored.
>>I doubt Gates wants to eliminate all the competition. However, just by its
>>sheer size and reach into the various disability technologies, Microsoft
>>could
>>do just that by frightening smaller companies out of the market --
>>stifling innovation.
>>
>>That would be a bad thing both for people with disabilities today and the
>>tens of millions of aging Americans who will rely on these technologies to
>>cruise
>>the Internet, check e-mail, and use a word processor in coming years. But
>>on balance, hats off to Microsoft.
>>
>>Williams
>>writes
>>Assistive Technology
>>every week, only for BW Online.
>
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