[orca-list] Fwd: Multi-desktop virtual machine ready for distribution

[Alex M <alex midence gmail com>]

Hi, all,

I meant to cc everyone on this message and didn't manage it some how.
Please see below:


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Alex M
Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 08:31:07 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Multi-desktop virtual machine ready for distribution
To: The Vinux Support Forum <vinux-support googlegroups com>

Hi, folks,

I need to get  ahold of someone with hosting space for a very nice if
rather large file.  I've a 1.9 gb 7z archive containing a virtual
machine with Precise loaded on it complete with Unity, KDE, Gnome and
XFCE.  It also contains Emacspeak 35 and espeakup.  The display
manager has been set to gdm and the desktop environment you log into
has been set to Gnome classic with Orca coming up automatically.
Speakup does not come up automatically and must be started with the
modprobe speakup_soft start=1 command followed quickly by Espeakup
both of which are done as root after loging into the console.  The
login for this machine is usermain and the password has been set to
a11y123.  My problem is that I need somewhere to post this thing and
make it available for anyone interested to download and use.  It is my
own testing vm that I use to try out the apps in the afore-mentioned
desktops and to switch to each of these environments.  Because of
this, it is quite rough around the edges in spots because I haven't
customized anything;  everything is in pristine condition as you would
receive it mainstream.   This means that you'll want to be somewhat
acquainted with how x works and how linux works in general before
downloading this since it is not and was never meant to be a true
Vinux distribution with everything customized out of the box for
maximum convenience and newbie friendliness.  So, don't make this your
prime linux installation unless you know what you are doing.  The main
impetus behind my desire to make this available to people is the fact
that a lot of advancements are in the offing for multiple desktops but
there don't seem to be any ready-made installations that people can
use to test them quickly and without having to hunt down a ton of
packages.  Also, I figured the distro would need to launch in a
familiar, accessible environment that allows you to get at each
individual application so you can check them out one at a time before
making the plunge to change your whole desktop environment.  If anyone
wants to try and make it better here's a few things that might help:

1.  Installation of the very bleeding edge in at-spi, pyatspi, and qt-
at-spi
2.  Bleeding edge Orca from source.
3.  Systemwide Pulse Audio so you get speech in gdm.  Right now, all
you get is the little drum roll.
4.  Configuring espeakup to start in the console at boot time.  (Leave
espeakup alone and don't replace with speech-dispatcher so you can try
out bleeding edge code there and not worry about being left totally
without speech if something goes wrong.  Updates seem to go better
including kernel upgrades with espeakup too.)
5.  Recompilation of espeak against pulse audio and not port audio for
better performance in Emacspeak.  (This can only be done if pulse is
systemwide because you'll completely lose use of speakup in console if
you do this with pulse in user mode.


System requirements:

1.  Vmware 4.0 or better.
2.  1024 mb of ram
3.  5 or 6 gigs of available hd space when the archive is extracted.
4.  7zip utility to extract it or something that can extract 7z files
archived with bz1 compression.
5.  Patience, a sound-proof room to contain your invective during
moments of distress, and the innate ability to count backwards from
ten very slowly in between deep calming breaths.

Thanks.
Alex M