Re: [orca-list] Orca install

[Michael Whapples <mwhapples aim com>]

Hello Hermann,
On Fri, 2007-12-14 at 12:19 +0100, Hermann wrote:
> I use GRML on my desktop machine, and I'm quite satisfied.
> However there are some Notes: It is rather difficault to build Gnome and
> Orca on GRML, because you need a lot of packages, among them some
> experimental stuff.
I haven't actually tried using GRML much as a full system, just as a
very handy liveCD. As I had understood it, as it is debian based I
thought you could use the debian packages, or does GRML have some
differences like ubuntu which prevents you from using packages from
debian (or other debian based distros)?

> I tried it about a year ago with no success, so I switched to Ubuntu; I
> would have prefered using Gnome and Orca on GRML.
Its a shame that its so hard to get gnome and orca on GRML. There isn't
any projects to build gnome distributions for GRML? Although Slackware
doesn't have gnome now by default, there are a few projects (gnome
slacky (http://www.slacky.eu), dropline gnome (www.droplinegnome.org),
gnome slack build project (www.gnomeslackbuild.org) (their binaries I
think are old but they are trying to bring it back to life with a gnome
2.20.x build) and the slackpack and slackbot system which has a gnome
package (www.mkanet.de). There probably are more). I think most (if not
all) of those slackware gnome systems come with orca.

> The speakup module is working, but if you have to use a language
> different from English, there are some limits: According to the manual
> of speechd-up, it doesn't speak correctly in a non-english environment,
> and that's exactly true. In my case German umlauts are not recognized,
> although Espeak and SD can handle it; it works in other environments,
> such as Emacs with Speechd-el.
What version of speechd-up is this? I thought in speechd-up 0.4 (or
whatever the latest is) that it was meant to have better international
support, and that if you wanted the old style (where speakup changed the
characters to words) you need to pass speechd-up the option -t. May be
the version in GRML is older than that one I am on about, or may be it
doesn't work as well as it might and I don't know as I only use it in
english.

> I also prefer working on a text console, but it's not always possible,
> especially on advanced websites and if you need a wordprocessor.
> If this gap could be closed, a console would be sufficent.
As for the word processor, the LaTeX language is in my mind far superior
to any word processor for writing documents, and there are tools such as
catdoc and antiword for viewing those word documents that people insist
on sending. I have to agree with you about the website thing, normally
there is a way around with one of the text browsers, but there are some
websites which just refuse to work in any of the text browsers, and in
those cases unless it is something I am  required to use (IE. when I was
at university the portal system there was like that) I tend to look
elsewhere.

Reflecting on all that, it depends what you intend to do with the
system, and for some purposes the possible problems/limitations aren't
really an issue, and gnome need not be installed so GRML would be good.
I can imagine that if GRML keep speakup and the software synth stuff on
the CD it will be a great friend to me in the future.

From
Michael Whapples
> Hermann