EITAAC - Families Subcommittee

[Bill Paul <BillPaul@compuserve.com>]

The list David Bolnick provides, is very comprehensive but I would like to
emphasize that what is often missing is the systems integration.  For
example, Don Dillin, a recognized expert in the field of assisstive
technology for the visually impaired, was hired by me to install in my
second home, a computer, scanner, printer with Zoom Text and Compuserve. 
He purchased an IBM computer an HP scanner and an HP printer.  He brought
the boxes with the hardware to my home and spent about 10 hours trying to
get the disparate black boxes and software to work.  He could not get the
HP scanner to work with the computer, and we had troubles with the
compatibility of Compuserve and Zoom Text.

He went back to Washington with the boxes and he worked another group of
hours and had to change computers to get the system to work.  He sent the
sysstem w/o the printer to my home.  I put the sysstem together and the
scanner still did not work.  It turns out that my printer and the scananner
did not play together.  Don kindly offered to fly down to FLA to fix it. 
Instead, I sought out a local guru who in turn could not get the system and
the scanner to work.  I called HP and voiced my frusstrations that it
shouldn't require an expert to make the basic system work.  I asked him if
I had bought all HP equipment, would the system be compatible.  He said no,
different product developers don't talk to one another and it will never
happen.

I will now try to buy a combined printer, copier and scanner and hope that
it works with Zoom Text.  

Lesson learned buy a system unless you are a computer buff.  I and many of
my disabled  friends are users and know littele about video cards and the
like.  This is a very tough issue but in the end, software must not only be
able to be accessible to assistive software purchased by the government,
but also the wquipment must be able to be put into a system wihich works
without requiring a software and computer expert in residence.

Bill Paul