Re: EITAAC - Families Subcommittee

[Bill Sahlberg <bsahlberg@futureforms.com>]

What list was provided by you Dave? Can you re-send.

Bill Sahlberg

Bill Paul wrote:

> 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