Re: [orca-list] openSUSE, Tumbleweed, GNOME, and Orca

[Alex Midence <alex midence gmail com>]

No, a rolling release is not the safest and most efficient way to go for
what you want.  Rolling release and safe are somewhat contradictory.  If you
are constrained when it comes to fixing constant issues that will arise in a
rolling distribution, it is probably not for you.  My recommendation would
be for something like Debian Testing where you get reasonably up to date
stuff but a modicum of stability with it.  Or, you could always use
something like Ubuntu with the Gnome3 ppa activated and run Orca/at-spi and
friends from the git repositories.  That way, the system as a whole is
stable but the a11y stack keeps getting updated.  My own solution to this
problem is that I run Debian as a base system for mission-critical stuff
like the e-learning web server I use and then I make a Fedora virtual
machine so that I can use the up to date stuff.  I have dropbox which I use
as the catch-all repository for the files I want to work on with Linux and
just install it on all my machines.  

Bottom line, there's no perfect solution for you, I'm afraid.  Stable
distribution with a11y stack run from source may get yout he best of both
worlds.  That may not even be what you want though.

HTH,
Alex M


-----Original Message-----
From: orca-list [mailto:orca-list-bounces gnome org] On Behalf Of Robert
Cole
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 1:21 AM
To: Orca-List
Subject: [orca-list] openSUSE, Tumbleweed, GNOME, and Orca

Hello, everyone.

I have been kind of at a rough point in searching for a production
distribution for awhile now. I want to keep up with accessibility
improvements, but I want to eliminate the six-month upgrade routine mainly
because, due to my current circumstances, I just do not have the time to
deal with it.

I now that, in the next few weeks, the Sonar Project is going to release a
Sonar version based on Manjaro Linux, an Arch derivative. Also, openSUSE
13.1 was recently released. both of these distributions offer a rolling
release solution. Manjaro is a rolling release distribution "out of the box"
whereas openSUSE has to have its "Tumbleweed" repositories enabled in order
to be used as a rolling release system.

I would love to work with a vanilla Arch installation, but (once again) I
have some serious time restraints, and I am not the best at fixing things if
I break them. There is also the very critical fact that I only have ONE
computer in my home to work with. If I mess it up, I mess it up for
everyone.

I have narrowed my selection of a production distribution to openSUSE,
Manjaro, and Arch. I just want to ask the list here if there are any
openSUSE "Tumbleweed" users out there. If so, how is your experience in
keeping your systemup-to-date in regards to accessibility? When I mean
"up-to-date", I am referring to stable releases (e.g. GNOME 3.6, 3.8, 3.10,
etc).

I hate to say it, but one of my faults is that I have a difficult time
making decisions because I am very meticulous concerning all of the details.
I want to do my best to make the best decision.

Please bear in mind that I am not asking, "Which distro should I use?" 
 From my research, I have come to three candidates: openSUSE, Manjaro, and
Arch. I guess if I could generalize my question even further, I would phrase
it like this: If one wants to keep up with accessibility improvements (e.g.
Orca and the GNOME Shell Magnifier in my case), but one wants to avoid the
six-month upgrade rutine, is a rollign release distribution a safe,
efficient, and effective way to go?

Any thoughts or input would be very much appreciated.

PS: I know that similar questions have been asked in the past, and I am very
sorry for being redundant. It is just that I want to get a distribution
installed and stick with it; I want to keep up with [stable] releases of all
of the accessibility components. When I do the upgrade process every six
months, I have some in my household who become rather impaitent because they
want to use the computer. <smile> That is the disadvantage of having only
one computer. I used to have a laptop, but it reached its end of life months
ago, and I just cannot afford another machine.

Thanks again, everyone.
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