Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Thomas Ward]

Well, if anyone is looking for a quality scan program OCR Shop does the job.
it uses the Care MTX scan engine, the same engine used by Omnipage and
Openbook, and Vividata offers a command line interface.
The version for a single home user is $99.00, and they support alot of the
popular scsi scanners.
So if you want something a little more professional get OCR Shop, and see if
you can find one of the supported scanners.

Re: Infocom games locally??

[Thomas Ward]

Speaking of infocom games I have a question. I have been playing Arthor been
doing well, but come to find out the only way to get the password for the
castle is to look in your manual for Lot's pome  and find the verse and line
you are given while hiding behind the thrown.

Does anyone have this pome? I really want  to be able to get out of the
castle with the prisoner, and back in to fight Lot after I have proven my
knighthood.

RH 7.4 beta?

[Thomas Ward]

Hi, list. It is my understanding RH 7.4 has Speakup already compiled in as
well as some newer packages I need for some current projects. Is it true
Speakup is already compiled in?

Next, what is a good web site to grab the beta isos from? Thanks.

Re: RH 7.4 beta?

[Aaron Howell]

yes its true its compiled in,
and even the keymaps are included.
I did an install of rh7.4 beta (null) on my own off sock standard cds.
Just be aware that once you boot up, you'll need to add
RUN_FIRSTBOOT=no
to etc/sysconfig/firstboot
otherwise it'll keep trying to run an X application to do soundcard and printer configs.
other than that you should be fine.
As for an ftp site, I'm not sure, i get mine from a local mirror at work (which isn't publicly accessible).
Regards
Aaron
On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 01:31:16AM -0400, Thomas Ward wrote:
> Hi, list. It is my understanding RH 7.4 has Speakup already compiled in as
> well as some newer packages I need for some current projects. Is it true
> Speakup is already compiled in?
> 
> Next, what is a good web site to grab the beta isos from? Thanks.
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

-- 
     +----------------------------------------------------------+
    /             |\      _,,,---,,_                           /|
   /              /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_                      / |
  /              |,4-  ) )-,_. ,\ (  `'-'                    /  |
 /             '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)                         /   |
+----------------------------------------------------------+    |
| Aaron Howell                  Kitten Internet            |    |
| aaron@kitten.net.au           Internet consultancy,      |    |
| Phone: +61-417-625550         System administration,     |    |
| fax: +61-7-36010099           system design/integration. |    |
| icq: 6715521                  http://www.kitten.net.au   |    |
|                                                          |    |
|                                                          |    +
|                                                          |   /
|                                                          |  /
|                                                          | /
|                                                          |/
+----------------------------------------------------------+

Re: RH 7.4 beta?

[Darragh]

Interesting! If you find it I'de be interested in having a look.  It may
have an updated version of emacs that works with w3.  Oh, by the way, still
haven't got w3 working.  I haven't had time over the last few weeks.  I'll
probably get back to it in a few days.

Darragh
----- Original Message -----
From: "Aaron Howell" <aaron@kitten.net.au>
To: <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 6:33 AM
Subject: Re: RH 7.4 beta?


> yes its true its compiled in,
> and even the keymaps are included.
> I did an install of rh7.4 beta (null) on my own off sock standard cds.
> Just be aware that once you boot up, you'll need to add
> RUN_FIRSTBOOT=no
> to etc/sysconfig/firstboot
> otherwise it'll keep trying to run an X application to do soundcard and
printer configs.
> other than that you should be fine.
> As for an ftp site, I'm not sure, i get mine from a local mirror at work
(which isn't publicly accessible).
> Regards
> Aaron
> On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 01:31:16AM -0400, Thomas Ward wrote:
> > Hi, list. It is my understanding RH 7.4 has Speakup already compiled in
as
> > well as some newer packages I need for some current projects. Is it true
> > Speakup is already compiled in?
> >
> > Next, what is a good web site to grab the beta isos from? Thanks.
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Speakup mailing list
> > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>
> --
>      +----------------------------------------------------------+
>     /             |\      _,,,---,,_                           /|
>    /              /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_                      / |
>   /              |,4-  ) )-,_. ,\ (  `'-'                    /  |
>  /             '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)                         /   |
> +----------------------------------------------------------+    |
> | Aaron Howell                  Kitten Internet            |    |
> | aaron@kitten.net.au           Internet consultancy,      |    |
> | Phone: +61-417-625550         System administration,     |    |
> | fax: +61-7-36010099           system design/integration. |    |
> | icq: 6715521                  http://www.kitten.net.au   |    |
> |                                                          |    |
> |                                                          |    +
> |                                                          |   /
> |                                                          |  /
> |                                                          | /
> |                                                          |/
> +----------------------------------------------------------+
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>

Re: RH 7.4 beta?

[Aaron Howell]

The version of emacs shipped is 21.2.
The version of emacspeak is 16.0
In case that helps at all.
Regards
Aaron
On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 08:31:47AM +0100, Darragh wrote:
> Interesting! If you find it I'de be interested in having a look.  It may
> have an updated version of emacs that works with w3.  Oh, by the way, still
> haven't got w3 working.  I haven't had time over the last few weeks.  I'll
> probably get back to it in a few days.
> 
> Darragh
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Aaron Howell" <aaron@kitten.net.au>
> To: <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
> Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 6:33 AM
> Subject: Re: RH 7.4 beta?
> 
> 
> > yes its true its compiled in,
> > and even the keymaps are included.
> > I did an install of rh7.4 beta (null) on my own off sock standard cds.
> > Just be aware that once you boot up, you'll need to add
> > RUN_FIRSTBOOT=no
> > to etc/sysconfig/firstboot
> > otherwise it'll keep trying to run an X application to do soundcard and
> printer configs.
> > other than that you should be fine.
> > As for an ftp site, I'm not sure, i get mine from a local mirror at work
> (which isn't publicly accessible).
> > Regards
> > Aaron
> > On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 01:31:16AM -0400, Thomas Ward wrote:
> > > Hi, list. It is my understanding RH 7.4 has Speakup already compiled in
> as
> > > well as some newer packages I need for some current projects. Is it true
> > > Speakup is already compiled in?
> > >
> > > Next, what is a good web site to grab the beta isos from? Thanks.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Speakup mailing list
> > > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> >
> > --
> >      +----------------------------------------------------------+
> >     /             |\      _,,,---,,_                           /|
> >    /              /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_                      / |
> >   /              |,4-  ) )-,_. ,\ (  `'-'                    /  |
> >  /             '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)                         /   |
> > +----------------------------------------------------------+    |
> > | Aaron Howell                  Kitten Internet            |    |
> > | aaron@kitten.net.au           Internet consultancy,      |    |
> > | Phone: +61-417-625550         System administration,     |    |
> > | fax: +61-7-36010099           system design/integration. |    |
> > | icq: 6715521                  http://www.kitten.net.au   |    |
> > |                                                          |    |
> > |                                                          |    +
> > |                                                          |   /
> > |                                                          |  /
> > |                                                          | /
> > |                                                          |/
> > +----------------------------------------------------------+
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Speakup mailing list
> > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> >
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

-- 
     +----------------------------------------------------------+
    /             |\      _,,,---,,_                           /|
   /              /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_                      / |
  /              |,4-  ) )-,_. ,\ (  `'-'                    /  |
 /             '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)                         /   |
+----------------------------------------------------------+    |
| Aaron Howell                  Kitten Internet            |    |
| aaron@kitten.net.au           Internet consultancy,      |    |
| Phone: +61-417-625550         System administration,     |    |
| fax: +61-7-36010099           system design/integration. |    |
| icq: 6715521                  http://www.kitten.net.au   |    |
|                                                          |    |
|                                                          |    +
|                                                          |   /
|                                                          |  /
|                                                          | /
|                                                          |/
+----------------------------------------------------------+

Re: RH 7.4 beta?

[William F. Acker WB2FLW +1-303-777-8123]

Hi,

     Where did you get the 7.4 number?  Everyones guess was 8.0 because of 
the new glibc and gcc-3.2.  As it happens, last night an 8.0 directory 
appeared on the FTP site.  Generally, it takes about a week before the 
directory becomes readable, giving time for mirror sites to get caught up.  
If you can wait a week, keeping in mind that there's no guarantee that 
it'll be released then, cool.  Or, maybe you can still get the beta from:
ftp://ftp.redhat.com/pub/redhat/linux/beta/null/
I suggest that you try to find a mirror.

          HTH.
-- 
          Bill in Denver


On Tue, 24 Sep 2002, Thomas Ward wrote:

> Hi, list. It is my understanding RH 7.4 has Speakup already compiled in as
> well as some newer packages I need for some current projects. Is it true
> Speakup is already compiled in?
> 
> Next, what is a good web site to grab the beta isos from? Thanks.
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> 

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Scott Howell]

Ocr Shop might be a nice program and is priced on the same level as most
cots ocr packages accept for something like Openbook which is very
expensive. However, Oct Shop is much more easily configured on a RedHat
or perhaps Debian box or a distro that uses that flavor of configuration.
I found it quite frankly to be a bitch to setup.
I never did determine how well it worked, but if you want to spend the
money, I think you'll find it to be a good program.

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Terry D. Cudney]

Hi all,

	OCRShoppe is targeted at RedHat. It doesn't install on a Debian system. I contacted Vividata and they promised to make a Debian compatible version, but that's last January. Before that I contacted them last August; they made the same promise then... Still they're not doing anything but RedHat. I agree, it should be a good ocr solution... but for now, it's only for RedHat users.

	--terry
 
On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 06:51:54PM -0400, Scott Howell wrote:
> Ocr Shop might be a nice program and is priced on the same level as most
> cots ocr packages accept for something like Openbook which is very
> expensive. However, Oct Shop is much more easily configured on a RedHat
> or perhaps Debian box or a distro that uses that flavor of configuration.
> I found it quite frankly to be a bitch to setup.
> I never did determine how well it worked, but if you want to spend the
> money, I think you'll find it to be a good program.
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

-- 

Name:	Terry D. Cudney
Phone:	(705) 422-0039
E-mail:	terry@CottageInWasaga.com
Web:	www.CottageInWasaga.com

Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like...
having a peeing sectionin a swimming pool.

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Adam Myrow]

They have a demo of OCR Shop on the web site and I was thinking of
downloading it.  What specifically makes it only run on Redhat?  Is it
only in RPM format?  Otherwise, I don't see why it shouldn't run in any
distro, but not being open source, we'll never know what they wrote it in
nor what it depends on.

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Terry D. Cudney]

Hi Adam,

	If you contact Vividata, they will give you instructions on how to install OCRShoppe fromthe command line (it's an X-based installation normally). However, when you follow their instructions, it becomes apparent that the directory structure (hierarchy) and library versions used by RedHat are different from the way things are set up in Debian.

	If you're gung ho, and feel confident about tracing/fixing directory hierarchy/library incompatibilities during the installation, then go for it. I spent a day on it and gave up. It just didn't seem worth the hassle... especially when you have to pay for it too.

	Just my $0.02CDN.

	--terry

On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 09:40:01PM -0500, Adam Myrow wrote:
> They have a demo of OCR Shop on the web site and I was thinking of
> downloading it.  What specifically makes it only run on Redhat?  Is it
> only in RPM format?  Otherwise, I don't see why it shouldn't run in any
> distro, but not being open source, we'll never know what they wrote it in
> nor what it depends on.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

-- 

Name:	Terry D. Cudney
Phone:	(705) 422-0039
E-mail:	terry@CottageInWasaga.com
Web:	www.CottageInWasaga.com

Please avoid sending me Word or PowerPoint attachments.
See http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/no-word-attachments.html

Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like...
having a peeing sectionin a swimming pool.

Re: RH 7.4 beta?

[Sunfire]

i just hope emacspeak gets fixed thats all i know...sigh


----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Ward" <slingshooter@valkyrie.net>
To: <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 1:31 AM
Subject: RH 7.4 beta?


> Hi, list. It is my understanding RH 7.4 has Speakup already compiled in as
> well as some newer packages I need for some current projects. Is it true
> Speakup is already compiled in?
>
> Next, what is a good web site to grab the beta isos from? Thanks.
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>

Re: RH 7.4 beta?

[Sunfire]

thought emacspeak 16.0 was broke.. maybe im wrong but thats what i was
told... shrug


----- Original Message -----
From: "Aaron Howell" <aaron@kitten.net.au>
To: <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 4:09 AM
Subject: Re: RH 7.4 beta?


> The version of emacs shipped is 21.2.
> The version of emacspeak is 16.0
> In case that helps at all.
> Regards
> Aaron
> On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 08:31:47AM +0100, Darragh wrote:
> > Interesting! If you find it I'de be interested in having a look.  It may
> > have an updated version of emacs that works with w3.  Oh, by the way,
still
> > haven't got w3 working.  I haven't had time over the last few weeks.
I'll
> > probably get back to it in a few days.
> >
> > Darragh
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Aaron Howell" <aaron@kitten.net.au>
> > To: <speakup@braille.uwo.ca>
> > Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 6:33 AM
> > Subject: Re: RH 7.4 beta?
> >
> >
> > > yes its true its compiled in,
> > > and even the keymaps are included.
> > > I did an install of rh7.4 beta (null) on my own off sock standard cds.
> > > Just be aware that once you boot up, you'll need to add
> > > RUN_FIRSTBOOT=no
> > > to etc/sysconfig/firstboot
> > > otherwise it'll keep trying to run an X application to do soundcard
and
> > printer configs.
> > > other than that you should be fine.
> > > As for an ftp site, I'm not sure, i get mine from a local mirror at
work
> > (which isn't publicly accessible).
> > > Regards
> > > Aaron
> > > On Tue, Sep 24, 2002 at 01:31:16AM -0400, Thomas Ward wrote:
> > > > Hi, list. It is my understanding RH 7.4 has Speakup already compiled
in
> > as
> > > > well as some newer packages I need for some current projects. Is it
true
> > > > Speakup is already compiled in?
> > > >
> > > > Next, what is a good web site to grab the beta isos from? Thanks.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
> > > > Speakup mailing list
> > > > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > > > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> > >
> > > --
> > >      +----------------------------------------------------------+
> > >     /             |\      _,,,---,,_                           /|
> > >    /              /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_                      / |
> > >   /              |,4-  ) )-,_. ,\ (  `'-'                    /  |
> > >  /             '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)                         /   |
> > > +----------------------------------------------------------+    |
> > > | Aaron Howell                  Kitten Internet            |    |
> > > | aaron@kitten.net.au           Internet consultancy,      |    |
> > > | Phone: +61-417-625550         System administration,     |    |
> > > | fax: +61-7-36010099           system design/integration. |    |
> > > | icq: 6715521                  http://www.kitten.net.au   |    |
> > > |                                                          |    |
> > > |                                                          |    +
> > > |                                                          |   /
> > > |                                                          |  /
> > > |                                                          | /
> > > |                                                          |/
> > > +----------------------------------------------------------+
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Speakup mailing list
> > > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> > >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Speakup mailing list
> > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>
> --
>      +----------------------------------------------------------+
>     /             |\      _,,,---,,_                           /|
>    /              /,`.-'`'    -.  ;-;;,_                      / |
>   /              |,4-  ) )-,_. ,\ (  `'-'                    /  |
>  /             '---''(_/--'  `-'\_)                         /   |
> +----------------------------------------------------------+    |
> | Aaron Howell                  Kitten Internet            |    |
> | aaron@kitten.net.au           Internet consultancy,      |    |
> | Phone: +61-417-625550         System administration,     |    |
> | fax: +61-7-36010099           system design/integration. |    |
> | icq: 6715521                  http://www.kitten.net.au   |    |
> |                                                          |    |
> |                                                          |    +
> |                                                          |   /
> |                                                          |  /
> |                                                          | /
> |                                                          |/
> +----------------------------------------------------------+
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Kenny Hitt]

On Sun, Sep 22, 2002 at 11:05:55AM -0400, Janina Sajka wrote:
> Kenny Hitt writes:
> > console apps.  The only thing I don't have working is OCR.
> 
> Have you tried scanimage and gocr? It's not the thoroughly packaged interface, but it meets my needs usually.
>
No, not yet.  I mostly used my scanner to read the user guides for
windows programs.  Now that I use Linux, I don't need to scan manuals.

          Kenny

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Janina Sajka]

No great tips here. It's why I qualified my original post with something like "usually does what I need." I weigh the lesser performance against the
hassle of rebooting just to scan a page or two. Usually, dealing with gocr wins.


Adam Myrow writes:
> From: Adam Myrow <myrow@eskimo.com>
> 
> I'd really like to know how you get anything useful out of Gocr.  Every
> time I've tried to use it, I've gotten mostly gibberish with maybe a few
> words intact.  Even a perfectly clean printout from an ink-jet printer
> will return mostly blank characters under Linux while being recognized
> fairly well under Windows.  So, any tips to improve Gocr's performance?
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

-- 
	
				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Scott Howell]

Ok, please lets not get on this topic of what is expensive and is not and
to who what expensive means. I paid $400 for the scanner I own now and to
me it was expensive, but it'll do what I want and worked with my Linux
box. Well it should once I finish getting things configured, but the
point is scanners are pretty inexpensive and Linux has more support now
then previously.
Got check out http://www.computergeeks.com for some really good deals on
scanners. However, rtfm on what scanners are supported first.
Me, I personally bought a scanner that would do both scsi and usb cause I
wanted it to work now not later. Of course this was about 2 years ago
when I first started trying to get the thing working with Linux. Today I
finally got around to trying scanimage and gocr; thanks Janina for
mentioning them.
If you really need ocr ability, then use what you must to get the job
done. If you can get it working under Linux, that's great!! I for one
choose to sit on my pricy device till I got it working under Linux. Yeah,
I'm slow to getting on something.:)


On Sun, Sep 22, 2002 at 03:21:17PM -0500, Gregory Nowak wrote:
> When I baught my current scanner, it cost me $120. For me, that isn't small change.
> 
> Greg

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Adam Myrow]

I'd really like to know how you get anything useful out of Gocr.  Every
time I've tried to use it, I've gotten mostly gibberish with maybe a few
words intact.  Even a perfectly clean printout from an ink-jet printer
will return mostly blank characters under Linux while being recognized
fairly well under Windows.  So, any tips to improve Gocr's performance?

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Gregory Nowak]

When I baught my current scanner, it cost me $120. For me, that isn't small change.

Greg


On Sun, Sep 22, 2002 at 04:11:52PM -0400, Janina Sajka wrote:
> True, but it's not as if a scanner is an expensive accessory anymore.
> 

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Janina Sajka]

True, but it's not as if a scanner is an expensive accessory anymore.

Gregory Nowak writes:
> From: Gregory Nowak <greg@romuald.net.eu.org>
> 
> Knowing that the packages you mentioned exist is one thing. Having kernel modules that support the scanner you currently own is another.
> Greg
> 
> 
> On Sun, Sep 22, 2002 at 11:05:55AM -0400, Janina Sajka wrote:
> > Kenny Hitt writes:
> > > console apps.  The only thing I don't have working is OCR.
> > 
> > Have you tried scanimage and gocr? It's not the thoroughly packaged interface, but it meets my needs usually.
> > 
> > 
> > _______________________________________________
> > Speakup mailing list
> > Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

-- 
	
				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Email: janina@afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Gregory Nowak]

Knowing that the packages you mentioned exist is one thing. Having kernel modules that support the scanner you currently own is another.
Greg


On Sun, Sep 22, 2002 at 11:05:55AM -0400, Janina Sajka wrote:
> Kenny Hitt writes:
> > console apps.  The only thing I don't have working is OCR.
> 
> Have you tried scanimage and gocr? It's not the thoroughly packaged interface, but it meets my needs usually.
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup@braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup

Re: OCR -- Was "Why I Choose Linux"

[Janina Sajka]

Kenny Hitt writes:
> console apps.  The only thing I don't have working is OCR.

Have you tried scanimage and gocr? It's not the thoroughly packaged interface, but it meets my needs usually.