RE: RFP - Guadalinex a11y edition

[Cesar Mauri <cesar crea-si com>]

Hello,

> Currently we are planning to create a special edition that would run 
> from a USB key with all the a11y features enabled by default. Its main 
> use is intended for users who want to make use of a computer where 
> a11y software is not installed. Then the user could plug the USB, 
> reboot the computer and can use the computer in a live session, of 
> course ifspecial hardware is not needed.

I won't remove support for special hardware. May be some users may carry it.

> Don't forget that we're not only working towards blind people, so we'd 
> need to extend Vinux and Tiflolinux capabilities.
>
> We ask you for help about how this a11y edition should be, look and 
> feel. Specially, we are interested in:
>
> 1. How should the environment be at startup in order to be the most 
> inclusive?
> 2. How should be enabled/disabled the different options? by 
> keystrokes? by mouse movements? by voice orders?
> 3. How should be the user informed of the different options? audio? 
> audio+text?

I imagine that, when starting the system for the first time (and
probably before running the GNOME desktop), a customization wizard
(using high contrast colours and large fonts) is automatically started.
Orca starts reading the contents of the first page of the wizard. This
first page should be the language selection. The name of each language
should be displayed (using the native name) along with a flag and a key
short-cut. Desired language can be selected making click on it or by
pressing one key (which the screen reader has already told using the
native language). If Orca cannot be started from the very beginning, you
could instead use recorded audio. It seems that, making things in this
way, blind people, people with low vision, people with typing or
pointing problems and even people with cognitive problems can
autonomously begin using the system. Of course, if someone has severe
physical restrictions and needs more specific aids (say, voice input,
head tracker, etc.) it seems reasonable that he/she won’t be able to
plug the USB key by him/herself. In this situation somebody should
provide help plugging the USB and tuning several accessibility options.

The wizard may continue allowing (may be without starting GNOME yet and
continuing with the custom wizard approach) to select several basic
accessibility parameters such as whether Orca should be started when
opening a GNOME session and thus enabling at-spi-registryd accordingly.

When GNOME fires up and depending on previous choices, several AT aids
should be enable and, may be, another customization wizard started to
refine the configuration. This “second” wizard should ask simple
questions about the user (problems to type? to point? etc.) and offer
the best suitable aids. For people with “only” vision problems it seems
pointless to enable keyboard or mouse accessibility options, but might
be useful to describe the basic Orca commands, how to enable the
magnifier or set a high-contrast theme. In contrast, people with typing
or pointing problems might find useful an on-screen keyboard, Mouse Keys
and, perhaps, Dwell click enabled. Anyway the wizard should provide
different means to select options (i.e. by pressing a key or by clicking
the desired option).

Finally, and when accessibility options are tuned accordingly I think it
is crucial to allowing saving them (to reuse latter, of course). See below.

Another suggestion is to provide a simplified desktop version with basic
functions for those with cognitive impairments.

> 4. Anything else you think is important to include

For me, one essential feature is allowing to save (on the USB key) the
accessibility options so that when the system is restarted again it
automatically enables the options previously selected without asking.
Yes, I know this is a live distribution, but released on a USB key this
is possible (see, for instance, cflinux [1] which uses the savedata
command to accomplish this). I think it makes sense to carry the USB key
and use it whenever necessary without having to tune again all options.
<http://www.cflinux.hu/>

> We'd love if all the development that will stem from this a11y edition 
> could be encapsulated somehow so that it could be re-used to derive 
> a11y editions from other GNU/Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, ...).
I completely agree with you.

Links:

[1] http://www.cflinux.hu/

Regards,

Cesar Mauri