Re: Ubuntu Accessability

[Peter Korn <Peter Korn Sun COM>]

Hi Ian,

If you are going with Ubuntu, best to go with the latest version of 
Ubuntu Edgy (version 6.10 or later).  For your needs, you should have:
- a set of high-contrast and large-print (and 
high-contrast-large-print) themes
- the ability to set the font & font size for your desktop, terminal, 
applications, and window borders
- the simple gnome-mag magnification engine
- the Orca screen reader which will drive gnome-mag

Some combination of these (e.g. lower level magnification + a large 
print theme; an inverse video theme with magnification; magnification 
with its own inversion turned on) will probably be best for you.  Many 
of the features you may have come to enjoy in ZoomText aren't available 
yet on UNIX (things like xFonts, AppReader, DocReader, the range of 
color settings, and some of the mouse & text caret highlighting).  
gnome-mag is more of a "1.0 product" (er, 1.21) as compared to ZoomText 
version 9.0.

gnome-mag can do up to 16x magnification in fractional increments; 4x 
isn't a problem.  gnome-mag can do color inversion; or you can use an 
inverse-video theme (which won't work with all apps, and won't invert 
content like images in web pages).  Ubuntu comes with Festival, 
configured for use with Orca.  You can also use other text-to-speech 
engines, like the commercial Fonix DECtalk for $50 if you prefer.  It 
also comes with OpenOffice.org, which should work with Orca without the 
need for the Java Access Bridge (the requirement was dropped fairly 
recently).  The Adobe Reader for Linux (x86) should work on Ubuntu, and 
supports gnome-speech for self-voicing of PDF content (see 
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=10&platform=unix 
for downloading it).  Unfortunately when I last tried it with Orca, it 
didn't work well; we're waiting on fixed from Adobe for that.  Also note 
that OpenOffice.org can export Tagged PDF.

LSR is another, open source scripting screen reader for UNIX written in 
Python (rather like Orca).  It is another assistive technology option 
for users, and some may prefer it to Orca.  Choice is a wonderful 
thing!  I understand that it also works with gnome-mag and with 
gnome-speech; so everything I said about that above when used with Orca 
ought to apply to LSR.  I'm somewhat less familiar with LSR as a 
technology, so I'll have to leave you in the capable hands of folks like 
Peter Parente and George Kraft of IBM to describe the finer points of LSR.


Regards,

Peter Korn
Accessibility Architect,
Sun Microsystems, Inc.


> Hi All
>
> I am having some guys from the local LUG come around to mine tomorrow to
> load up Ubuntu  6 - not sure which sub version - onto my PC.
>
> Can you please let me know what accessability is in-built into this distro?
> I want to achieve as near as possible an equivilant to Windows ZoomText in
> functionality.
>
> >From previous postings I am aware that Orca is available - as I do not have
> an external synth, I presume I will need Festival as well - is this part of
> the distro?
>
> I am visually impaired with about 40% sight left so I need accessability
> interfaces to allow me to have:
>
> - full screen magnification 4x is my normal level, in both GUI and non-GUI
> interfaces - is this manageable by Gnome magtnification and is this on the
> distro?
> - screen colour inversion to allow white writing on a black background -
> Gnome Mag?
> - screen reader - this is the Orca + Festival interface?
> - document reader - Open Office documents and PDF.  Do I still need, if
> memory serves, the Java bridge for OO - again is this on the distro?
>
> There have been postings about LSR and Speech Despatcher - LSR I presume
> complements Orca, but where does Speech Despatcher fit in; is it a Festival
> replacement or an additional Service to allow other apps to interface with
> the above accessability options?
>
> Cheers in anticipation
>
> Ian
>   
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