RE: EITAAC - Families Subcommittee

[Janina Sajka <janina@afb.net>]

I agree with Jim Thatcher only in part. I expect that system integration
itself may not be our charge, but I do believe we could support operating
systems that did a better job of integrating. I expect we could name such
an OS as preferable.

To this end Microsoft could do much to improve it's position. I cannot
begin to tell in a few short words how significantly easier it is to
install a printer, video card, modem, etc. under Win 95/NT. This is true
even if we need to access the device manufacturer's web site for drivers
newer than the OS drivers we have.

The same is not true, regretably, in assistive tech. In fact, I'm tempted
to say that the opposite is true. We struggle to integrate assistive tech
into AFB's computer systems. It takes far more time and effort than we
expend on "mainstream" devices.



				Janina Sajka, Director
				Information Systems Department
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

janina@afb.net