Re: getting orca included in gnome 2.16

[Henrik Nilsen Omma <henrik ubuntu com>]

Janina Sajka wrote:
> Mike Pedersen writes:
>   
> > We have been informed, however, that there can be only one screen
> > reader/magnifier in the GNOME desktop.
> >
> >     
> That's a rather outrageous attitude. Who made that decision?
>
> Are they also prepared to have only one web browser? ONly one media
> player? ONly one word processor? Only one email client application?
>   
I think you may have misinterpreted this slightly. The idea is that 
there will only be one official screen reader in Gnome, as there indeed 
is only one email client (Evolution), one browser (Epiphany), one office 
suite (gnome office, using abiword and gnumeric). Distributions can, and 
do, change these defaults and users can install a whole range of options.

In Ubuntu we include Firefox instead of Epiphany, OpenOffice instead of 
Gnome Office, etc. I see no problems with that. Currently we have 
Gnopernicus installed by default and Orca as an option. For our next 
release we will likely change that so that Orca becomes the default and 
Gnopernicus the option. We still package and support a wide range of 
options beyond that though and we are actively working on several new 
accessibility tools from scratch.
> Frankly, it's an insult. This kind of grudging support for accessibility needs to be stopped right now. In fact, it's a 
> stretch to even call it "support."
>   
This may be true in some areas of the open source world still, that 
accessibility is an afterthought, but we are working to improve that. An 
important factor in becoming better at this is learning to collaborate 
better and work together on common tools. Choice is good in principle, 
but the price of fragmented effort can be high.

Finally, I think you are complaining the wrong audience here (various 
accessibility lists). All these people are already on your side. If you 
want to make this complaint it should go to the main developer lists of 
gnome, redhat, ubuntu, etc. Though that said, I do actually think that 
gnome is right in their policy on this.

Henrik Omma
Ubuntu Accessibility Coordinator