Vibuntu 1.1 is ready!
The new release of Vibuntu is ready for
download! It incorporates several significant improvements over the first
version and a handful of small changes. Vibuntu is a remaster of the Ubuntu 8.10
'Intrepid Ibex' live CD customised to the needs of blind and partially sighted
users! It is designed to boot from a live cd or USB memory stick, log you in
automatically and then start up the Orca screen-reader. Full-screen
magnification can then be activated with a simple
keystroke.
IMPROVEMENTS...
Firstly I have resolved the problem of
Orca not working with applications run with root permissions by following the
recommendations posted on the official Orca website: i.e. I created an .orbitrc
file for the root user, disabled the gksu keyboard grab and edited the sudoers
file. This allows Orca to work with applications like the Ubiquity installer and
the Synaptic Package Manager etc. However, the recommended way to launch these
applications is to open a terminal by pressing 'Ctrl+Shift+t' and then typing
the name of the application e.g. 'sudo ubiquity'. The reason for this is that
launching these applications from the panel menus or desktop icons produces
inconsistent results. In other words sometimes Orca works and sometimes it
doesn't. Finding a way to solve this problem is still my top
priority.
Secondly I have now merged the 2D and 3D
versions of Vibuntu into a single .iso image. Vibuntu will now boot into the
standard 2D magnification mode by default, however you can enable/disable the 3D
magnification by simply clicking on a
desktop icon or menu entry. This means
that you can try the 3D version without any risk of major problems because if it
doesn't work or crashes the display you can simply disable the 3D effects or
restart your xserver by pressing
Ctrl+Alt+Backspace'.
Some minor improvements include Braille
support being enabled at boot, a slightly larger red mouse pointer to enhance
its visibility on both dark and light backgrounds, some new keybindings to open
a terminal 'Ctrl+Shift+t', to open the home directory 'Ctrl+Shift+h', to toggle
window maximisation 'Ctrl+Shift+m' and to toggle fullscreen mode
'Ctrl+Shift+f'.
DOWNLOAD...
The new release is available from the
following URL:
http://www.rnc.ac.uk/mct/linux/vibuntu/Vibuntu-1.1.zip
Inside the zip file you will find iso
image and a text file containing the md5sum of the iso image (not the zip
file).
The image should also be available at
Osvaldo La Rosa's blinuxman.net mirror within the next 24
hours:
http://vibuntu.blinuxman.net/ or
http://blinuxman.net/vibuntu/
Osvaldo has also kindly set up a
homepage for Vibuntu at:
http://blinuxman.net/projects/vibuntu.php
INFORMATION...
You can use Vibuntu as a live CD, a
portable operating system on a USB memory stick (Using Unetbootin) or you can
install it
to your hard drive either alongside or
as a replacement for Windows. In order to fit all of the accessibility settings
on the CD I have had to remove some applications including: The GIMP graphical
image manipulation program, the F-Spot photo-manager, Gnome Games and the Ekiga
voice over IP package. You can easily reinstall these and many more open-source
applications if you choose to install it on your hard-drive. I used the
RemasterSys package to create Vibuntu and I have included this package on the CD
in case you want to make your own customised live CD. N.B. The default username
and password is 'orca', and this will be retained even if you install it to your
hard-drive, no matter what you type in during the installation process. (You can
change this by typing 'sudo passwd orca' into a terminal and then typing the new
password twice)
As always I would of course appreciate
any feedback on Vibuntu. Post any
feedback: good, bad or just plain ugly on this
thread.
KEYSTROKES...
What follows is a list of keystrokes you
can use to control the screen-reader and magnification software. I will only
provide a few basic keystrokes for Orca to get you started as they are all
listed in the preferences window and are unchanged from the default settings. I
have provided an exaustive list of the magnification/display keystrokes as I
have customised them to make them easier to
remember!
ORCA...
Open Preferences Window:
insert+space
Open Main Menu:
alt+F1
Move Through Menu/Text: up, down, left
and right
Move Through Form: tab,
shift+tab
Toggle Voice On/Off:
insert+s
Quit Orca:
insert+q
BASIC 2D
MAGNIFICATION...
Toggle Magnification On/Off:
insert+m
Increase Magnification:
insert+(plus)
Decrease Magnification:
insert+(minus)
ADVANCED 3D
MAGNIFICATION...
Zoom In: win+z
(win+left-mouse)
Zoom Out: win+x
(win+right-mouse)
Zoom x1:
win+1
Zoom x2:
win+2
Zoom x4:
win+3
Toggle Magnifier Box:
win+m
Zoom In Magnifier Box:
ctrl+left-mouse
Zoom Out Magnifier Box:
ctrl+right-mouse
Resize Window:
win+r
Zoom To Window:
win+w
ADVANCED 3D
MOVEMENT...
Pan Right:
win+right
Pan Left:
win+left
Pan Up:
win+up
Pan Down:
win+down
Lock Zoomed Window:
win+l
Centre Mouse Pointer:
win+c
Toggle Highlight Mouse Pointer:
win+h
ADVANCED 3D
COLOURS...
Toggle Invert Colours:
win+i
Toggle Invert Window Colours:
shift+win+i
Toggle Filter Colours:
win+f
Toggle Window Filter Colours:
shift+win+f
Switch Filter Colours:
win+s
Decrease Window Brightness:
win+(minus)
Increase Window Brightness:
win+(plus)
Decrease Window Saturation:
shift+win+(plus)
Increase Window Saturation:
shift+win+(minus)
Toggle Dim Inactive Windows:
win+d
GNOME...
Open a Terminal:
ctrl+shift+t
Open the Home Directory:
ctrl+shift+h
Toggle Window Maximisation:
ctrl+shift+m
Toggle Full-screen Mode:
ctrl+shift+f
This list of keystrokes will
automatically load into Gedit when Vibuntu
boots!
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