[orca-list] Introduction

[Bryen <suseROCKS bryen com>]

Hi,

I wanted to introduce myself and get involved with this mailing list.
See what topics are discussed in this group and how I may contribute.

I am affected with Usher Syndrome, which means I have both Retinitis
Pigmentosa and hearing impairment.  I am legally blind with less than 20
degrees of vision but still retain some decent central vision (Until a
wall suddenly and miraculously appears in front of me with no warning!
"Okay!  Who put that wall there?!?)  And I am profoundly deaf, although
with a hearing aid I gain significant hearing to be considered
hard-of-hearing.  I am a fluent ASL signer.

I've been a user of Suse distributions for the past three years, but
only in recent weeks have I become more actively involved in the
openSuse community and participating on its openSuse-GNOME team.
Primarily, as a participant of this team, I am focused on testing
accessibility and usability tools from an end-user perspective in
preparation for their upcoming 11.0 release expected in 2008.

So why am I interested in this area?  Simple, not only am I interested
in it because I am a user with impairments, but also because I am a
systems consultant.  And quite frankly, I want to be sure that in 10
years, as my vision continues to deteriorate, it is not computers that
keeps me from working.  :-)

I've only recently started playing with Orca.  There are some things I
like about it and some things that I don't like about it.  But as I
emphasize to everyone talk to, there is no one tool to fits the bill for
everyone.  We, as people with various impairments, are as diverse as the
snowflakes in winter.  I've been working closely with some of the good
folks at Novell, and I can assure you they are very much enthusiastic in
making their distribution as highly accessible as possible.  But as we
continue to discuss new ideas and issues, it occurred to me that surely
we aren't the first to discuss such things.  Why re-invent the wheel?

And so here I am.  Enthusiastic about testing and evaluating the various
tools available and looking forward to the day when there truly is no
barrier left in the digital world.

-- 
---Bryen---