I highly recommend what others have already said, that is, use the
specialized software. You might, for your boss, make this comparison.
A person does not technically need MS Office. He or she could use Word Pad
for word processing, an aftermarket plug in for spell checking, and one of
the many free ware basic spreadsheet programs, plus perhaps Eudora for
email, and Lynx for web browsing. They all certainly do work, and with a
lot of effort and frustration, one can make them work together more or less.
However, most employers have recognized that in the interest of
productivity, it is much easier and cheaper to provide MS Office with all
these applications integrated and able to share, and convert to one another.
Open Book, the one I use, is like this. It is able to completely interface
with Adobe, and/or open and recognize pdf documents directly. It is able to
be a word processor enabling easy editing without having to reimport the
document elsewhere. It is able to export to other formats, like MS Word, so
that its documents can play nice with other programs. It can act as your
desktop fax machine, your photo copier, and in a pinch, even your Braille
translation and embossing program. In short, it's not only about price,
it's about value. The program, and probably Kurtsweil too, does many
powerful things from one user interface saving a lot of time, energy,
frustration, and productivity.
Bill
-----Original Message-----
From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Ray Campbell
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2007 9:07 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VICUG-L] An Interesting Question to Ponder
Hello All:
My boss asked me an interesting question last night that I don't feel I have
a good answer for, so I'm putting it out there to get your opinions.
For those of you who want or need to be able to scan documents into a
computer so you can read and do other things with them, there are two
specialty software packages, Kurzweil 1000 and Open Book. Also, many
scanners today come with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software that
allows one to scan documents directly into Microsoft Word. This latter
option in terms of price is much cheaper.
The question is this. Assuming that someone has a computer equipped with
the necessary screen reader or screen magnifier, why do you need a specialty
package like Kurzweil 1000 or Open Book instead of just a scanner and OCR
software that scans directly into word? In answering this, think of the
advantages that you believe exist with packages like Kurzweil 1000 or Open
Book. Also, think in terms of someone needing to purchase these products,
how would you justify the cost of one of these programs if the person has
the necessary screen reader or screen magnifier and a scanner.
I will be looking forward to hearing your responses. If you'd like to call
me and talk with me about this, that would be fine. Otherwise, e-mail
responses are acceptable.
Ray Campbell, Help Desk Technician
Adaptive Technology Center
Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired 1850 W.
Roosevelt Road Chicago, IL 60608
312-997-3651 (Voice/Relay) or
888-825-0080 (voice/Relay)
[log in to unmask]
AIM Screen Name: tclhelp
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