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

[Christopher Chaltain <chaltain gmail com>]

See my comments below.

On 03/17/2013 05:26 PM, Bill K. Dengler wrote:
> Oh and stay away from Vinux.
> It's old.

There's no reason to stay away from Vinux. Vinux 3.0.2 is based on 
Ubuntu 10.04, which is still supported. Vinux 4 is still in beta, but 
it's very usable, and it's based on Ubuntu 12.04.

> It's buggy(person wrote list asking about Braille displays and was
> using this distro when the bugs were probably fixed in late 2012 or
> early 2013 software).
> It uses a  version of gnome from 2010.

It uses Gnome 2, which is still very popular among the blind and the 
sighted alike, since it was the Gnome desktop used for almost a decade. 
If you want Unity and something newer then you can use Vinux 4 or a 
newer version of Ubuntu, such as 12.04.

It's no more buggy than any other distro or application. Sure, some bugs 
have been fixed since then but other bugs have also been introduced. It 
just comes down to what you'll be using and whether it works for you or not.

> it's loaded with crap.

This is absolutely false, and I have no idea what's contained in Vinux 
that's being considered crap. It's basically a standard Ubuntu distro 
with some accessibility issues already addressed and some inaccessible 
applications being replaced by more accessible ones. There's almost 
nothing in Vinux that you can't install yourself or wouldn't do anyway 
to get a more accessible system.

> it's "dumbed down" to the point of being unusable.

This statement is absurd, and I don't even know what it means to call 
something dumbed down. It's ironic that someone's using this term to 
refer to Ubuntu 10.04 and Gnome 2, since this is the vacuous criticism 
thrown out against Unity and Gnome 3. When someone tosses out words like 
crap and phrases like dumbed down make sure you get an explanation of 
what they mean since these terms don't mean anything in and of 
themselves, and you have no idea if the person using them even knows 
what they're talking about.

I use Vinux 3.2.1 every day all day as my production OS. I'm running 
Vinux 4 in a virtual machine, and I'll probably be moving to that shortly.

This person has some good advice, but his criticism of Vinux is 
unfounded and irrational and should just be ignored.

> Bill
> On 03/17/2013 05:59 PM, Christopher Chaltain wrote:
> > You don't need to use the command line or know a lot of complicated
> > bits to use Linux. It's definitely not just for programmers and
> > computer scientists. This list is about Orca, which is a screen
> > reader for the graphical desktop. Of course, knowing and using the
> > command line opens some things up to you but it's not necessary to
> > use Linux.
> >
> > I'd suggest starting off with Ubuntu 12.04. You just need to hit
> > the control+s key once you hear the drums. Another option is vinux
> > 3.0.2 or the beta of vinux 4 which is based on Ubuntu and just
> > comes up talking.
> >
> > On 03/17/2013 04:55 AM, James AUSTIN 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
>
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--
Christopher (CJ)
chaltain at Gmail