Companies are tied to particular computer manufacturers and must pay for bad tailor-made software that can often be bought for a small fraction of the price off the shelf.

ECONOMIST: Software in Japan

After that, customers find themselves locked into years of expensive software purchases, tailor-made for each customer by the hardware maker or its associates.

ECONOMIST: Software in Japan

Some of the new offerings: free software that can tailor the text on any Web site to your personal visual needs, and a cellphone that can snap photos of text -- like signs and restaurant menus -- and read it back to you.

WSJ: High Tech for Low Vision

The software allowed customers to schedule appointments online and dealers to tailor special promotions and track which efforts worked best.

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