Re: [orca-list] Vibuntu the most accessible Ubuntu Linux live cd for theVisually Impaired EVA III

[Michael Whapples <mwhapples aim com>]

Hello,
A few comments:
* For who you aim it at and for where it starts (ubuntu) it could be 
very good, obviously this won't be everyone.
* So long as it is kept clear that it starts from ubuntu those who may 
be are more advanced with linux may not be so upset as I get the feeling 
they may very well have made decisions about distros (talking personally 
I wouldn't use a ubuntu based system as ubuntu doesn't give me what I 
want, IE. it isn't vibuntu I have the problem with it is ubuntu, but as 
vibuntu is a modified ubuntu then...).
* Is it the most accessible Linux, probably not, it depends where the 
user comes from. May be it is so for a Windows user but I have heard 
(and can believe now) that a blind person starting from scratch actually 
might pick up the command line quicker, in which case GRML is an 
excellent accessible LiveCD (possibly the best). GRML and ubuntu 
(Vibuntu) are very different and so I wouldn't say even compete with 
each other (both personally and in the way that they are aimed at 
different user groups).

I also question who really are the people you need to convince about 
Linux being a good accessible alternative. For the VI user there is a 
great incentive, the cost (although NVDA (www.nvda-project.org) could 
help the windows user in that respect). Probably more importantly is 
those who teach VI users about computers, if they understand the system 
then they can teach it, and most importantly they need to know it even 
exists.

The only system I believe which has tried to do what Vibuntu is meant to 
do, is oralux. I don't know what it is like now, but it had start up 
scripts to set up the LiveCD with the environment you would want (with 
speech feed back throughout). Have you looked at it?

Michael Whapples

On 23/12/42 20:59, Anthony Sales wrote:
> Hi Tom, its the self-deluded megalomaniac who thinks he has solved all of the
> world's problems with a simple remix of Ubuntu. I think the key here is to
> remember that this distro is not really aimed at Linux users at all - but
> visually impaired users who maybe haven't even heard of linux before. I am
> trying to 'sell it' (for free remember) to teachers, trainers, colleges and
> institutions in the UK who probably have never heard of or used Linux before.
> When promoting something it is usually to emphasise its strengths rather than
> weaknesses. No one is going to sell many cars if they use the slogan, 'its
> OK, its pretty much like other models really'. In the same spirit that
> Carlsberg claim to brew 'probably the best larger in the world', I have
> claimed to have produced 'the first fully accessible version of Linux for
> visually impaired users who have never used Linux before'. It has certainly
> got peoples attention and a bit of a debate going! You know that I don't take
> myself that seriously, but I think you would have to agree that Vibuntu, even
> though it still needs lots of work, is probably the only Linux distro that
> you or I know of that could be booted and experimented with by someone with
> no experience of Linux, who would have no chance of being able to configure
> it themselves without support and/or sighted help. I think a lot of people in
> the Linux VI community forget just how difficult it is to get into Linux, and
> the fact they they are so technically competant themselves etc makes them
> lose sight of the fact that the vast majority of VI users are not hackers and
> have no ambitions to be so. They just want to browse the web, send a few
> e-mails or write a letter etc. If Vibuntu helps just a few people kick their
> dependancy on microsoft than I will consider it a time well spent. (What
> would you rather be doing - translating T3 scripts into Welsh or tinkering
> with Ubuntu?) Yours in humble modesty, drbongo.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ubuntu-accessibility-bounces lists ubuntu com on behalf of Thomas Lloyd
> Sent: Sun 14/12/2008 22:02
> To: ubuntu-accessibility lists ubuntu com
> Subject: Re: Vibuntu the most accessible Ubuntu Linux live cd for theVisually
> Impaired EVA III
>
> I also agree that the claim of the first accessible Linux is a tad far
> fetched and maybe the most accessible Ubuntu Linux live cd for the
> Visually Impaired. Is more accurate? We all fall victim to claims of
> self grandeur at times, especially when it our baby.
>
> I think that the proof is in the pudding as Tony has said himself the
> community will decide. I have no issues with slightly misleading
> marketing if it saves any disabled people money and opens up more
> opportunity for them.
>
> This is not to undermine what has been done in the past by other groups
> and if there are better products for those people they will find them.
> But we all need a starting point and if you are forced to spend a small
> fortune to start on a computer many people who can, either can not or
> don't.
>
> So all in all keep up the good work make sure you add in a feature that
> forces the user to change their password at least and maybe their
> username after an install and I will stop worrying about security.
>
> NL
>
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