I don't think politics plays a role here. I have known at least one tech
support person who worked for Freedom Scientific. He said they emphasized
closing tickets and had the attitude that if they couldn't replicate a
problem it wasn't a problem. I had an experience like that 10 years ago
where I had a problem with terminal emulation. A JAWS update interfered with
text presentation in Braille and text presentation was crucial for my job.
They had the attitude that because the terminal emulation scripts were
written by a third party and because the scripts were old they said they
couldn't do anything. I pointed out that because the scripts were included
with JAWS then they were responsible. I even met with Freedom Scientific and
the company which makes the terminal emulation software. The company offered
to create a demo environment for Freedom Scientific to debug the issue and
Freedom Scientific wasn't interested. They wanted my employer to hire them
to write scripts to resolve the issue. I understood the issue and
recommended a solution and they weren't interested in trying it. I think
most companies use third-party developers. I doubt that Apple, google, or
Microsoft would tell a customer that they weren't responsible for a part of
their product. I generally find the accessibility help desk at Microsoft
resolves issues. I get mixed results from Apple and google.
Unfortunately, some assistive technology companies don't have good technical
support. I realize this is expensive but there are customer benefits. If a
customer isn't happy with technical support from one company they will take
their business elsewhere. I notice this in the Braille display market. Blind
people aren't very forgiving if they have a bad tech support experience with
one company. I have gotten mixed results with tech support for Freedom
Scientific Braille displays. One person was really thorough at trying to
help me pair my Focus display with an android phone. Other people were
somewhat dismissive. I've gotten good technical support from Hims despite
the fact that they don't answer their phone. The last time I had an issue
they were able to identify it as a feature which wasn't available. At least
they recommended a change to their developers.
I think Freedom Scientific has the attitude that since they are the only
game in town as far as purchased screenreaders are concerned they feel they
can do anything they want because they have a captive audience. They say
they are the world's largest producer of assistive technology but don't
offer the world's largest technical support. I have to admit that their
training resources are good but providing training and documentation isn't
enough. One of the vicug list members gave me a solution to the problem
which I was able to fix in about 30 seconds. The Freedom Scientific tech
support person should have known about screenreader and Braille support for
Google applications.
I know many people who have abandoned Freedom Scientific hardware and
software. Braille users buy other products and screenreader users choose
NVDA, Narrator, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. Some people say they only use JAWS
in a work environment because they have to.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
<[log in to unmask]> On Behalf Of Christopher Chaltain
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2021 6:13 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] Unhappy with Freedom Scientific Technical Support
Agreed about unintended consequences, which is why we need people to realize
that some of these issues are complicated and can't be explained or solved
in a sound bight, especially from those who are trying to pin blame or push
a political agenda. You bring up the example of bus drivers. I heard an
interview with a bus driver the other day, and she was talking about how
miserable a job driving buses is. Add to that the fact that a lot of school
districts don't have any separation between drivers and school children plus
several states make it illegal for school districts to enforce wearing masks
on school buses where children can't be vaccinated, where they may be
asymptomatic and of course social distancing isn't possible. Sure maybe
there are some bus drivers out there who could have gotten by without their
low wages from driving a bus with their stimulus checks and unemployment
benefits, but I also don't begrudge a bus driver who doesn't want to place
themselves in a tin can full of germs, especially if they're in a high risk
group. IMHO, people who spread misinformation about vaccines and who cloak
their selfishness in the guise of freedom of choice are much more to blame
for our flagging economy then any of the stimulus packages. I agree we need
to be patient, and that means putting up with the inconvenience of wearing
masks and socially distancing for a few more months and not engaging in the
spread of misinformation around vaccines.
--
Christopher (AKA CJ)
Chaltain at Outlook
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Pietruk <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, September 23, 2021 9:53 PM
To: Christopher Chaltain <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] Unhappy with Freedom Scientific Technical Support
Chris
There is plenty of blame that can be placed on all political spectrums.
What is unfortunate is the unintended results.
Many schools have resorted back to remote learning?
Why? Can't get enough bus drivers, of all things.
Need a car repair; it may be difficult to get parts.
And that may be the very problem the blind tech companies could be facing in
some instances.
And there are all sort of anomalies at pllay right now that give the U.S.,
in some instances, the feel of a 3rd country.
And if that is the direction we're heading in, many of the businesses people
on this list depend on, will cease to exist.
And we'll be worse off for it.
So, I guess, we need to show some patience in many of our demands and hope
and pray that those businesses we depend on for our software, hardware,
services and the like can simply survive and get through this.
And, if formalized tech support declines, hopefully the companies that run
the email groups can keep their heads above water as we'll be more than ever
dependent on the peer-to-peer support lists can and do provide.
Right now, my heart goes out to small businesses as their bottom lines are
more tenuous than bigger firms who might have a bit more leverage and a base
to spread things over.
I'm glad that Dan was able to figure out his JFW problem; and for the
moment, we may find tech support, in general, not what we expect in a lot of
places given all that has happened including the pandemic which stopped many
things dead in their tracks.
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
Archived on the World Wide Web at
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