Re: [orca-list] new linux distro, with apology to Robert Cole

[Daniel Barich <barichd kenyon edu>]

> We also aim to provide a command line
> only version of Sonar for users who either don't want to use a graphical

There's already a command-line Talking Archlinux which I've used a little bit:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Arch_Linux_for_the_blind

I haven't yet tried installing a DE but just wondered how the new
sonar would compare to it.

> environment at all, or who would choose to only use a graphical
> environment parttime and would install their chosen desktop later. This
> is best achieved by using an Arch derivative, as it does exactly this.
> Additionally, Manjaro has its own repositories divided into 3 branches:
> unstable, which syncs with Arch and where packages are tested by
> developers and users who want to be as close to Arch as possible,
> testing, where packages are tested by users who are interested in
> reporting any bugs or instability they find, and stable, which picks up
> fixes from testing and unstable, and is considered ready for use by
> anyone who just needs a stable environment with few issues. It is
> possible to move freely between branches at any time, i.e. to move from
> stable to unstable and then downgrade back to testing or all the way
> back to stable.
>
> We intend to provide live images that will be based on GNOME shortly
> after its release, and we will continue experimenting with LXDE,
> providing live images shortly after it is released. These live images
> are to be based on Manjaro's stable branch. However, because Manjaro is
> a rolling release, it will not be necessary to download a new iso every
> 6 months, as stable packages are updated weekly. It's kinda like running
> Debian Unstable or Arch, but minimizing the breakage that sometimes occurs.
>
> Additionally, using Manjaro as a base will make it easier for the
> development team to keep Sonar updated. Using Ubuntu to provide GNOME
> 3.10 would have required repackaging most of the GNOME desktop in a PPA,
> which seemed a bit like having to reinvent the wheel, especially since
> Ubuntu GNOME will apparently still be using mostly GNOME 3.8 with some
> 3.6 packages once 13.10 is released. Manjaro, on the other hand, will be
> receiving a complete GNOME 3.10 desktop from Arch, which will hit the
> stable branch very shortly afterward, so it will be ready for Sonar much
> more quickly. Once 3.10 is available in Manjaro's repos, building its
> Sonar iso will be a very simple matter of running a single command that
> builds it based on our specifications and then uploading it to the
> website. We also have much more fine-grained control over what we want
> on the live image and the installed system than we did with the Ubuntu
> build system. Yes, we can actually take out Empathy and Evolution, which
> are having issues with Orca, without losing metapackages and causing
> other packaging issues. We can remove some of those games that  Orca
> can't help us play as well. We can even replace the display manager at
> will, offering whatever will provide the best talking login screen.
>
> And I'm sure people have started seeing the word "we" a lot in this
> message and are probably wondering what that's all about. Well,I'll come
> right out and say it, I'm officially on the Sonar team, although it
> wasn't me who drove the project to migrate to Manjaro. I was all ready
> to try my hand at helping to repackage GNOME for a PPA that would have
> been used to make the 13.10 Sonar release. We just heard about Manjaro
> and found out just how easy it is to build it into exactly the iso we
> want it to be, and we started working closely with the Manjaro team, and
> were very pleasantly surprised by how far we were able to go with it in
> just 4 days. So yeah, I'm very excited to be on the team, and I'm very
> excited to be working with an amazing Arch derivative for the foundation
> of Sonar's future releases. I hope this clears up any confusion about
> where the Sonar project is going and why. Any other questions can be
> directed to the Sonar team or the Accessible Freedom support list, or
> sent in response to this message.
> ~Kyle
> http://kyle.tk/
> --
> "Kyle? ... She calls her cake, Kyle?"
> Out of This World, season 2 episode 21 - "The Amazing Evie"
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