Word on the street says we’re closing the lid on System Access. So, what gives?
While it is true that we are evaluating all products to make sure they’re still relevant, System Access is very much a part of your foreseeable future. We are anxious for the day when you can go out and buy a PC with an extensive screen reader out of the box. That’s part of being an independent consumer, right? Alas, that day is not quite here.
Serotek is not in the business of leaving you out in the cold. Rest assured, System Access will enjoy ongoing development for as long as the product is needed. In fact, even if Windows 10 miraculously came with a robust screen reading solution, we would still give everyone a year’s notice before discontinuing support for our screen reader. We recognize System Access fills an important niche in the community for folks who need a stable product at a price you can actually afford.
System Access will never completely depart our stables. If the day comes when System Access is no longer a viable business option, we will release the source code and let others build on the platform, let you guys take a more direct hand at charting the screen reader’s long-term future. For the moment we’re keeping it in-house to preserve oversight of a stable and reliable experience for those of you who have come to rely on System Access for work and home.
As the industry as a whole begins to transition away from proprietary solutions, we will be right here providing training materials and support options for alternative screen readers like NVDA, Voiceover, Narrator, etc. Serotek largely began as a means to pass along the same technology we built for ourselves to use in our own daily lives. In other words, wherever we go, we’re bringing you with us. That’s what we do when you’re a part of the family.
Regardless of the long-term future of System Access, the well-loved, and free, SAToGo platform will continue to exist under licensing to the AIR Foundation. SAToGo has long since been part of our philanthropic effort to bring a free and intuitive screen reader to blind people in developing countries who cannot afford the expensive alternatives.
So, there you have it. No, System Access is not going away anytime soon, and it will always be the fuel behind our Accessibility Anywhere package, which you should totally take for a test drive if you haven’t done so already.
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