Re: [orca-list] Mobile phones, MP3 players, Linux and Orca

[Piñeiro <apinheiro igalia com>]

From: Jason White <jason jasonjgw net>
Subject: [orca-list] Mobile phones, MP3 players, Linux and Orca
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:14:51 +1100

> I don't have a portable MP3 player, and I think I'm going to skip them
> entirely and get a good Linux-based mobile phone instead, which will also be
> able to serve as an MP3/OGG/FLACC player.
>
> Maemo seems to be a relatively open Linux-based mobile phone operating system.
> They've been using GTK+ until now, but plan to migrate to QT.
> See http://lwn.net/Articles/356825/ for details.

But the fact is that right now is using GTK+, and the date of the
release of the next QT based device is unknown, but based in the
schedule times in older devices, at least more than a year. [1]

In the same way GTK+ has *now* the implementation of the ATK
interfaces (GAIL), and the additional mobile-oriented widget stack
based on GTK+, called Hildon [2], has now the implemenation of the ATK
interfaces (HAIL, an add-on to GAIL like Hildon is a add-on to GTK+).

Right now there is no a ATK equivalent to Qt, and probably a new
Hildon-like stack based on Qt will appear (so obviously, it has no
current support).

> If, following the migration of ATK, AT-SPI and Orca to D-BUS, this is
> compatible with the accessibility support provided by QT 4, it is possible
> that Orca could be made to function in this environment. Input handling would
> require some work, in that a mobile phone lacks a fully functional keyboard.

Well, although you can use the N900 with a virtual on-screen keyboard,
it has also a physical qwerty keyboard.

> The other major contender is Android, which already has a range of
> speech-based applications built on top of the same libraries that support the
> corresponding GUI applications. I think Android is much closer to being a
> good, accessible solution than anything based on other Linux environments.

Maemo has a long experience in migrate current, existing and tested
GNOME Desktop applications.

> On the other hand, it is quite possible that Orca will find its way into
> mobile phones at some point, although clearly the move toward QT complicates
> this effort somewhat, and nobody has yet stepped forward to make it happen, as
> far as I know.

As I said, IMHO, GTK+-Hildon can be still considered for the short-mid
term for accessibility support in mobile devices.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Tablet#Maemo
[2] http://maemo.gitorious.org/hildon

===
API (apinheiro igalia com)