From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from rwcrmhc54.attbi.com ([216.148.227.87]) by speech.braille.uwo.ca with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 173Ogg-0005L2-00 for ; Thu, 02 May 2002 18:04:30 -0400 Received: from mycomputer ([24.62.33.141]) by rwcrmhc54.attbi.com (InterMail vM.4.01.03.27 201-229-121-127-20010626) with SMTP id <20020502220403.OPLM2627.rwcrmhc54.attbi.com@mycomputer> for ; Thu, 2 May 2002 22:04:03 +0000 Message-ID: <003101c1f225$1e076f40$02213e18@mycomputer> From: "Igor Gueths" To: Subject: Fw: I swear to tell the truth Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 18:02:54 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200 Sender: speakup-admin@braille.uwo.ca Errors-To: speakup-admin@braille.uwo.ca X-BeenThere: speakup@braille.uwo.ca X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.8 Precedence: bulk Reply-To: speakup@braille.uwo.ca List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Speakup is a screen review system for Linux. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: This is the reply that I got from Chris H.=20 ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Chris Hofstader To: 'Igor Gueths' Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 5:32 PM Subject: RE: I swear to tell the truth > Hi, >=20 > My testimony was purely to the points that I did not want to see = multiple > versions of Windows kicking around. To make JAWS and our other = products, we > need to remain narrowly focused on testing on a single version of the = OS. =20 >=20 > I agree entirely that an increasingly large number of companies are = using > Linux. The vast majority of our new users are people getting a job = for the > first time. People with limited skills and education do not get jobs = as > sysadmins or working in a server farm. Many of our users work in call > centers with Windows based data entry screens. Others in more = professional > environments lean toward jobs in health care, law and a vast array of > non-technical positions where their companies have standardized on = Windows. > Sadly, guidance counselors in many parts of the US have steered blind = people > away from the technical professions as engineering skills aren't = valued too > highly by special education programs. >=20 > No where in my testimony do I make any claims on the quality or > standardization of Linux or other open source projects. I do state = that > there are many good accessibility aids for the Linux OS but that they = depend > upon the work of volunteers. Microsoft has a large team of paid full = time > staffers working exclusively on AT projects. I wish the people who = make > money on Linux distributions would commit a reasonable level of = resources to > the cause. >=20 > I don't need to be convinced of the value of open source projects or = of the > Linux OS. I just don't want Microsoft's products to be made open = source. I > understand how the dynamics of the Windows world works. An open = source > Internet Explorer would not be published with the GNU General Public = License > but, rather, it would permit distribution of modified executables = without > requiring the source code to be shared. Thus, many variants of IE = would > turn up with a variety of levels of accessibility built in. >=20 > I was simply addressing reality. Most blind people don't have jobs = (75% or > so) this is the problem we need to solve today. My own background has = seen > me as a strong advocate of Project GNU and as a co-founder of the LPF. = I > still stand behind those efforts as well as I do my testimony. >=20 > Thanks for writing, > cdh >=20 > =20 >=20 > -----Original Message----- > From: Igor Gueths [mailto:igueths@attbi.com]=20 > Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 5:01 PM > To: ChrisH@freedomscientific.com > Cc: speakup@braille.uwo.ca > Subject: I swear to tell the truth >=20 >=20 > Hi Chris. As you can probably see, I am from the Speakup list. I am an > active user of the Linux operating system, however I still rely on Win = for > some things, but am increasingly switching to Linux. Following the = posting > of your testimony to this mailing list, one person commented on the = fact > that Win98 especially, is unstable, therefore it will reduce output = from a > company because of crashes and/or rebooting. This is why I use Linux. = It is > a much more stable environment. I would also like to comment on your > statement about Win being the most used OS in most companies. I = believe that > this highly depends on what job you take. For example, a lot of = companies > are now using Linux especially in their server architecture. So if you = got a > job there, you could very well find yourself working at a Debian Gnu = Linux > 2.2 or later system, Slackware, or Redhat. I also feel that it is = necessary > to comment on bugs in programs. Most Windows programs that I have used = have > a lot of bugs in them. As a result, they usually crash, giving some = invalid > page fault in some module, usually within the application. If you = report the > problem to the vendor of the product, I have found that the response = is that > "We are currently looking into this problem." >=20 > They don't attempt to put fixes up for the bugs, and as a result = you > have to wait for the next upgrade. Then you possibly have to pay full = price > for the upgrade, and this can get rather annoying after a while. In my > opinion, this is a case of developers making money off of software = bugs, and > purposefully coding buggy, untested software so it can get to market > quicker. This is where Linux andthe OSDN become superior. >=20 > You report a bug, and a patch for the program can come back to you > within hours, not days. The developers have the code in front of them, = a > well as the end user. In other words, if the end user has knolige in = C/C++, > and the program happens to be written in either of these two = languages, the > user can very well modify the software to fit his/her needs, and also = fixing > the bug (s).=20 >=20 > I also believe that your statement about open source programs = being of > different versions because different developers are working on them is > wrong. This is where Cvs comes in. I'm not sure if you are familiar = with > this, it is a system which manages and tracks all versions of your = programs. > Once a developer which is working on the program submits his modified > sourcecode with the new changelog, then it is there for other = developers to > download and work on and then recommit the code with their changes. In = this > way, there is no mistake about version information and features.=20 >=20 > A lot of people from this list have been putting their two-sense = in > regarding your testimony. I just felt that I should sum up the = opinions and > include mine in as well. >=20 > Regards, Igor and Speakup Mailing List