Re: [orca-list] Is Linux suitable for non-programmer/computer scientists?

["Bill K. Dengler" <billkd2008 gmail com>]

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On 03/17/2013 06:23 PM, Thomas Ward wrote:
> Hi James,
>
> If you want a graphical environment such as Gnome or Unity, which
> is similar to the Microsoft Windows  user interface, Ubuntu 12.04
> is one place to start
why? Is he doing a large deployment or something? What about... 12.10?
but is by no means the only option. There are some
> customized distributions such as Sonar Linux that has updated
> versions of Orca etc
If you want updated versions of orca use raring and the master branch.
Can't get any better than that.
 all ready to go. Just install Sonar and you have a fully
> accessible fully up to date graphical user environment.
Yep... let's tell Canonical that their work of including Orca and a11y
tools on the live CDs is not appreciated and go recommend kangs
instead of fixing any issues that might exist! That's a wonderful way
to tell Canonical that their doing a great job with the Ubuntu a11y!
> As far as the command line environment itself goes it all depends
> on who you ask and what their own personal opinion on the subject
> is. I think that a blind user can easily use Linux using a
> graphical environment such as Gnome with little to no knowledge of
> the command line.
You could if you wanted to, but personally I use a mix of both. Once,
I used a cli with espeakup on Arch Linux to do everything but web
browsing(where I used a minimal XFCE session), and now I use a full
Unity desktop and just open terminals for file management, android
debugging, etc. Oh, and of course, scripting.
 However, as with all things the more you know about using the
> command line it will give you some more advanced skills to
> reconfigure your system, some advanced skills for trouble shooting
> problems if and when they arise, and of course some command line
> apps are just flat out more accessible in some cases than their
> graphical counterparts.
agreed
> So while knowledge of the command line isn't strictly necessary it 
> would still be a big help to know in case you need it.
>
> As to your question about programming etc you don't have to be a 
> programmer or computer scientist to run and use Linux. While 
> programmers such as myself are drawn to Linux because of the 
> availability of the source code, free programming tools, whatever
> that doesn't exclude the average Joe and Jane using it as well.
> Ubuntu 12.04, which I happen to be running, is very easy to install
> and most of the common applications like Firefox, LibreOffice,
> Totem Movie Player, etc are accessible and work out of the box. It
> doesn't matter one way or another if I know how to program or not
> because using Firefox for browsing the web or writing a report in
> LibreOffice Writer would be the same for me as you.
It's definitely easier to use Linux for programming(I.E. Orca's "speak
indentation and justification" checkbox makes it lots easier to
program in python, etc).
But, like the "Linux is for third world countries" claim, you don't
have to be a programmer, be a nerd, or live in a third world country
to use Gnu/Linux.
> Cheers!
>
>
> On 3/17/13, James AUSTIN <james londonsw15 gmail com> wrote:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > I don't post too often but read this list with great interest.
> >
> > I'm not going to go into my reasons here, but I am beginning to
> > think that my current  access solution could be in the process of
> > stagnating.
> >
> > I would be very sad to say goodbye to it, but the time might come
> > when such a course is necessary.
> >
> > Reading the list suggests that a great deal of command line
> > knowledge and complicated bits and piece are involved in Linux,
> > even after all of this time.  I'm not exactly a command line
> > newbie, but many of you are far more conversant than I am.
> >
> > Do any of you have  any suggestions where I might start if I did
> > decide to jump on the Linux band wagon please? I have been
> > reading a lot about Ubuntu and it seems to be the favourite among
> > many.
> >
> > Thank you and please feel free to write to me off-list if you
> > prefer.
> >
> > Take care James _______________________________________________ 
> > orca-list mailing list orca-list gnome org 
> > https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list Visit
> > http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca. The
> > manual is at 
> > http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html
The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions
> > Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org Find
> > out how to help at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/HowCanIHelp
> _______________________________________________ orca-list mailing
> list orca-list gnome org 
> https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list Visit
> http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca. The manual
> is at
> http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html
The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions
> Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org Find out
> how to help at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/HowCanIHelp

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