Re: [orca-list] How to Move on to Next Section General Time and Date

[Martin McCormick <martin x it okstate edu>]

        I appreciate these responses. I will quote and respond:

Rob Whyte writes:
> certainly glad to be of help.
>
> It may be worth having a read around for comparisons between Linux and
> other operating systems.
> I am unsure if you are coming from another operating system such as Mac
> OSX or Windows or just starting out on Linux.

        I have been running unix systems since 1989 starting
with DEC Ultrix, Sunos and, for the last 12 or 13 years, FreeBSD
and Linux. Except for the Mac GUI, however, all the unix
activity has been in the good old command line which, to me, is
more like a conversation with a no-nonsense friend who will
really help you out if you help yourself.

> Please consider the following link as a starting point:
> http://linux.about.com/library/gnome/blgnome1n2a.htm
>
> The Orca screen reader also has a range of keyboard commands starting
> with what is commonly refered to as flat review.
> This is where the number pad on a Desktop keyboard it utilised for
> reading commands with Orca.

        This is the kind of information I was looking for. The
GUI is neither good nor bad but it is totally different and
one's experience with it is shaped by the API you are using. A
JAWS user is going to have different experiences than a
Window-Eyes user even though they are both using Windows. I
certainly didn't expect this to be like the Mac which is, yet
again, a different experience than what Windows screen reader
users find.

> You can still use the intended functionality by pressing numlock which
> is located in the top left hand corner of the num pad.
> Try exploring the num pad for Orcas funtionality.
> Basically the top row, 7 8 and 9 will read up, current and down lines at
> a time.
> The 4, 5 and 6 numbers will do the same but for words at a time and the
> 1, 2 and 3 again the same but for characters.

        Sort of like speakup which is what I now use for command
line work

> I hope this information is not insulting knowledge you may already have.
> Sometimes it is safe to start assuming little knowledge.

        No problem. I know a number of things about working in
the unix command line, but gnome and orca are brand new to me as
I have never gotten it to work on anything I had had access to
at home or at work until now. It looks like the Vinux4.0
distribution of ubuntu likes a box I have at home that has
enough resources to run it so I am installing it in hopes of
running firefox and a PIC microcontroller development system
called mplab-x which reportedly uses a lot of java in it's GUI.
I am not holding my breath but I sure hope it works.

> Good luck

        Thank you. I think this is the face of accessibility for
us for the future as long as it stays as an integral part of the
operating system. I have never had any stomach for bolting it on
as an extra-cost option. That insures it is never where you need
it when you need it.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK 
Systems Engineer
OSU Information Technology Department Telecommunications Services Group