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In short I would say, it depends very much what you wish to get out
of Linux, are you switching for the right reasons? If the reason is purely, I don't like all this costly software on windows, I want a free (as in cost) replacement, then no Linux will not satisfy the user as its not a direct drop in for windows. If the view is more open to change and the user wants to learn about a new system so they can make the most of the linux environment, then its probably good for them. However the above is probably true in a wider sense than the accessibility and is probably true for any system, they all have their advantages and disadvantages, it so much depends on what you want. As an example I like linux for the freedom I have in tweaking my system and making it do what I want. I would say that I can do nearly everything I need to do with a computer using Linux. There are a few exceptions which require another operating system, my kapten GPS is one such example as the supplied software only works on windows or Mac. However to get to this system I very much like and meets all my needs I did need to do a bit of configuring it. In contrast my Mac is very good from the aspect of I push a button and in the main it works. This simplicity comes at the expense that should I find a problem with software such as voiceover the best I can do is just work out what causes the problem and email Apple's accessibility team and cross my fingers they choose to fix it. Would I say orca is more prone to unexpected behaviour than other screen readers? There are certainly some big noticeable problems, such as the frequent crashing of openoffice while using orca. The example you gave of some applications being inaccessible, this is no worse than other platforms, eg. versions of window-eyes before we4java when using java applications was the same, try and use a GTK application with any windows screen reader, etc. As for the unity desktop thing, forget it, linux is not ubuntu, there's plenty of other distributions out there to choose from should ubuntu be inaccessible. Michael Whapples On -10/01/37 20:59, Rob Lambert wrote: Keep in mind I'm not an Orca screen reader user, and my attempts to use the magnifier weren't very successful (I use the magnifier built into Compiz Fusion). Some have asked "should I use Linux?" One person in particular is a screen reader user. I've been hesitant to recommedn Linux to them, because of it not being necessarily a "turn key" solution, and this is because of Orca, while usable, can sometimes be unpredictable from what I've heard. For instance, Virtual Box doesn't talk at all, while Bleach Bit talks just fine. What is your view on recommending Linux to someone who lacks the funds for the Mac but is begging to get out of the Windows environment? As I said I personally have been hesitant to do this, especially with the new Unity interface just around the corner for Ubuntu. |