From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from an-out-0708.google.com ([209.85.132.246]) by speech.braille.uwo.ca with esmtp (Exim 3.36 #1 (Debian)) id 1I7JIL-0003WL-00 for ; Sat, 07 Jul 2007 19:02:29 -0400 Received: by an-out-0708.google.com with SMTP id c37so129889anc for ; Sat, 07 Jul 2007 16:02:28 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.100.136.8 with SMTP id j8mr974951and.1183849348327; Sat, 07 Jul 2007 16:02:28 -0700 (PDT) Received: from ?76.182.4.152? ( [76.182.4.152]) by mx.google.com with ESMTP id d25sm1753258and.2007.07.07.16.02.27 (version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=RC4-MD5); Sat, 07 Jul 2007 16:02:27 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Re: Some Questions About Linux And SpeakUp From: Lorenzo Taylor To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." In-Reply-To: <014601c7c0d3$6bfb6b20$ccca6352@Parham> References: <01b401c7c082$1aeba200$ccca6352@Parham> <20070707180010.GA27672@localhost.localdomain> <014601c7c0d3$6bfb6b20$ccca6352@Parham> Content-Type: text/plain Date: Sat, 07 Jul 2007 19:02:25 -0400 Message-Id: <1183849345.23024.29.camel@taylor.homelinux.net> Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Evolution 2.11.4 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-BeenThere: speakup@braille.uwo.ca X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9 Precedence: list Reply-To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." List-Id: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Sat, 07 Jul 2007 23:02:29 -0000 > Do you prefer a distribution that concentrates on the text-based > environment, or is the GUI OK? I have had much success with Ubuntu > http://www.ubuntu.com > and use it almost exclusively. Well, it's my only Linux distribution > of choice, and I only use Windows XP in a virtual machine to play > audio games. Ubuntu includes Orca, which is a screen reader for the > GNOME GUI and works well with Evolution (e-mail), Totem (Media > player), and the alpha builds of the Firefox web browser as well as > decent support of openoffice.org for word processing and spreadsheets > as well as other things you may find usable and enjoyable. > > I know I might get flamed for my choice, since Ubuntu is dropping > support of Speakup in the next release, , but I have had no > complaints or major breakage with it so far, even after quite > prematurely upgrading to the unstable Gutsy repo. I can also say that > Orca is working quite well for me in a text terminal to do those > things I absolutely must use the command line for like copying and > moving files and installing/removing/upgrading packages, simply > because that's the way I prefer to do those things. Perhaps Ubuntu > will include Speakup in a later release for those who still need pure > text-mode access, but if you use the GUI at all, I highly recommend > Ubuntu, even without Speakup. > > If you prefer to have no GUI and only use text-mode/command-line > applications, I would recommend Debian. Speakup modified versions of > the Debian net install CD's are available for the latest stable > version, and if you like the latest versions of packages, upgrading to > Unstable usually doesn't cause any major breakage. I actually used > Debian Unstable for about 3 years before switching to Ubuntu. I'm not > sure, however, that Speakup modified Debian installers support > software speech at this time. It is possible, though, to bootstrap a > Debian system from an existing Unix-like OS, but this takes quite a > lot of work, and I had trouble with it myself, and I consider myself > somewhat of a power user. > > As for Grml, I had trouble after installing it once, so I didn't try > again. It may have just been the laptop I was instaling it on, but it > behaved differently after the install than the live CD did. This was > about 2 years ago, however, so a lot has probably changed since then. > If your question about Grml was can it be installed in some other way > than using the live CD, the answer is no, since Grml is only a live CD > to my knowledge. If, however, your question is can Grml be installed > to your hard drive, then the answer is yes. There is an install script > that will put it on your hard drive for you with little or no trouble. > If you like, try it out and you may find it quite useful. Grml is also > Debian based, so you should get access to all the packages Debian has > available. > > Hope all this info helps, > Lorenzo > > I've always found anomalies to be very relaxing. It's a curse. > --Jadzia Dax: Star Trek Deep Space Nine (The Assignment)