Re: [orca-list] text console use

[Christopher Chaltain <chaltain gmail com>]

I also started using computers in the 80's with DOS and the command 
line. I also used Unix for a bit. My first two editors were EX and 
EdLin. In the early 90's I started using OS/2 with it's graphical 
interface and IBM's Screen Reader /2. In the mid 90's I was using the 
command line on AIX along with Emacspeak. In the late 90's I switched 
back to a graphical interface with Windows, and I've been switching 
between Windows and Linux with Gnome and Orca ever since. I'll still pop 
open a terminal session or jump to a console to perform tasks almost 
daily, but I do spend most of my time in a graphical interface.


My only point is that it isn't just kids and younger people that prefer 
the graphical interface. As someone else said, I like to have both 
available at my finger tips. I also agree with something Janina said 
later in this thread, which went something like, to each his own. I'll 
further that and say there's nothing wrong with using either the 
graphical interface or the command line. they're both just tools used to 
get a job done.


On 10/15/2018 07:25 AM, Janina Sajka via orca-list wrote:
> Hi, Didier:
>
>
> I have to add my strong agreement, but maybe it's because I, too, have
> been using computers since the early 1980's--when there was no graphical
> desktop to be had. I suspect younger folks simply have no clue about the
> cli. I suspect for many of them it's like a foreign country with an
> incomprehensible language.
>
> I sometimes play a what if game with myself. How might my life today be
> different had I studied kernighan and ritchie rather than Applesoft
> Basic at San Francisco State University in the 1980's? What if I'd
> learned vim and latec back then rather than WordPerfect 5.1?
>
> Of course the reasons for these choices were greatly dictated by the
> availability of those options in a pre-Linux world. Back then very few
> people had direct access to any kind of Unix system, except perhaps by
> modem where access was metered by the minute--a very expensive
> proposition for someone on a strict budget.
>
> And, I must close by noting in Orca's defense that I sometimes forget
> that I'm using Firefox and not Lynx when I tab to an input field and
> issue a Ctrl-U. I mean I'm surprised to see the source-view, because I'd
> forgotten I wasn't in Lynx! <grin>
>
> Janina
>
> Didier Spaier writes:
> > Funnily I would tend to ask the opposite question: why a blind person would need a graphical environment?
> >
> > I know at least one blind Slint users who never use one.
> >
> > I believe that most things done in a graphical environment can also be done in a console, often with a better 
> > productivity. This stands for blind as well as sighted people.
> >
> > A few examples: for writing you have a lot of text and code editors like nano, emacs and vim, mutt for 
> > emails, lynx and links for web browsing, mplayer to listen to music, vlc to listen to movies, crafty to play 
> > chess, games like freeswipe or scribble, the list goes on and on.
> >
> > Actually the first personal computer I used nearly 40 years ago didn't have a graphical environment, maybe 
> > that's why I am used to text mode.
> >
> > Best,
> >
> > Didier
> >
> > On 10/12/18 7:48 PM, Michael Weaver via orca-list wrote:
> > > I don't know if this is the right list to ask on as it is not strictly Orca but it is about text 
> > > screenreaders but is text console use still necessary. I am not quite clear on this point. The reason is that 
> > > you can use the terminals in gnome, Mate or maybe other desktops like mate-terminal from an alt F2 run prompt 
> > > which is why I ask about text consoles, your CTRL ALT F1 to F6 which don't speak with Orca so need a 
> > > different screenreader.
> > >
> > > Just curious with projects like Fenrir.
> > _______________________________________________
> > orca-list mailing list
> > orca-list gnome org
> > https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list
> > Orca wiki: https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/Orca
> > Orca documentation: https://help.gnome.org/users/orca/stable/
> > GNOME Universal Access guide: https://help.gnome.org/users/gnome-help/stable/a11y.html
> > Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org

--
Christopher (CJ)
Chaltain at Gmail