OK, folks, I reckon pretty much all the responses I'm likely to get to
my call for votes on the 'best' technology out there are in by now and
its time to make good on my promise to share the results.  Fact is,
there were no winners.  There couldn't be any winners for the very good
reason that my attempt at a poll was flawed.   I asked the wrong
question.    The more than a dozen people who graciously responded
anyway were not slow in pointing that out:   There is no 'best' program
or software; there is only what works for you.   There is no substitute
for hands-on experience of the various systems to learn which one that
might be.
    Unfortunately, my own experience has been that that is easier said
than done.  Although I live in one of the country's larger metropolitan
areas, I had no idea how to find a demo of any of these things.  Some
people had heard of them but no one knew how to go about buying them
(as if  one could afford them in the first place...).   Thus, from
frustration, I threw my delimma at you-all.   What I really wanted to
know was, what has been your experience with this stuff and how do I go
about making sense of all these packages?   What I should have asked
was, which of you has needs which parallel mine  (Oh yes, Elizabeth, ask
another easy one!) and what do you use and how well does it serve those
needs?
     That said,  you gave me a lot of useful information.   I heard good
things about Open Book, JFW,  Vocal Eyes, Windows-Eyes ,  DecTalk
Express, DoubleTalk and a pretty wide variety of other names I'd never
heard of.   I found it interesting that there were no real pans.   No
one said, "X" is a lousy system; don't touch it with a 10-foot pole.  I
think that, more than anything, convinced me that each has its own
merits, that users of these aids are-- more than heavy-handed me--well
aware of this, and that I've just got to try them myself.    Special
thanks to Kelly for referring me to her organization's newsletter at
city-net.com and, especially, to whoever it was who pointed me to a
vendor list at www.nyise.org/vendors.html.
    In point of fact,  the Colombia Lighthouse found the time the other
day to return my call and was able to refer me to one salesman in the
area, with whom I have a demo appointment late this month.  I will thus
probably buy the Kurzweil 3000 (formerly , I'm told, called OMNI 3000)
because the salesman will hopefully remain close by to help me with the
inevitable bugs.  Yes, Willie, after all the literature, after all the
brain-picking and even the electronic harrasment inflicted on you folk
on the list, It probably all comes down to the availability of local
support.
    Thanks to all of you who let me bounce my thought processes off you
for your patience and responsiveness.  Wish me luck.
                                                Elizabeth
'Oh-for-a-magic-feather'  L.