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

Regarding Oralux you missed one important element:
there was no gui in it,
and there was no orca at all since orca is more recent than oralux was.
Labrador.

On Mon, Dec 15, 2008 at 12:08:09AM +0000, Michael Whapples wrote:

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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