[Blindmath] Computer operating systems and accessibility

Thu Jun 4 21:54:24 UTC 2009

I am unsure whether I would say windows actually gives the best user 
experience, I personally find linux is preferable. I will say for the 
majority of people windows is more familiar and the software will be 
that used by others, so help may be easier to get. Also as Jared says, 
there may be particular software only available for windows with no 
linux alternative, however my experience is that these software packages 
tend to be very specialist and few.

Linux accessibility (more specifically gnome-accessibility and orca 
screen reader http://live.gnome.org/Orca) is moving along at quite a 
pace and there are somethings which when they happen should improve 
things significantly (eg. QT graphical toolkit making accessibility 
information available to standard at-spi will make a whole group of 
applications accessible). Admittedly linux can sometimes require a bit 
of work to set up, but if you have the time the result can be worth it.

Also as Jared suggests, linux is free, so even if you feel you must have 
windows then why not dual boot with linux and try it, or use whichever 
you feel is better for the task you wish to do. Also you may want to try 
linux on a LiveCD before you actually install it to hard disk, this 
saves you running the risk of messing up your windows installation while 
trying out linux as it runs entirely from the CD with a LiveCD. Be 
prepared to give linux some time before you make up your mind on it, it 
is different to windows, things work differently, sometimes you need to 
configure software before it works as you want. Also remember linux is 
more than one distribution (I am giving ubuntu a funny look while saying 
that as so many users seem to make up their mind after seeing ubuntu). 
My favourite distribution is GRML www.grml.org which is essentially a 
slight variation on debian (so I probably would be happy with plain 
debian). Here is a list (not necessarily complete) of linux/unix 
distributions with accessible installers: GRML, debian (you can install 
plain debian with GRML by using the grml-debootstrap command), opensuse, 
ubuntu, opensolaris (not linux but uses the gnome desktop) and archlinux 
(I can't remember the link for the accessible install CD, its on the 
speakup mailing list http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup).

As for macs, never seen one, would be unfair to comment.

Michael Whapples
On 04/06/09 20:13, Jared Wright wrote:
> I feel for the end user Windows still provides the most explicit 
> levels of access, just because a lot of time has been invested into 
> the commercial screen readers for it. If you're willing to invest in 
> one of those, you will have access to a lot of what you encounter on 
> the OS. Linux has a larger variety of  potential solutions. Most 
> require a little computer DIY willingness, but depending on what 
> you're doing, you may be able to put together a Linux setup that does 
> everything you want even more efficiently than Windows. That said, you 
> might encounter software on Windows that just doesn't have as 
> developed a counterpart on Linux. Since everything in that arena is 
> free, it can't hurt to just dual boot it with another OS. Regarding 
> Mac, I'll just say I'm hardly impressed and will let anyone who wants 
> to talk on its merits do so separately.
>
> JW
>
>
>
>
> On 6/4/2009 1:27 PM, Tamara Smith-Kinney wrote:
>> Hi, all.  Since my major considerations in purchasing a new computer 
>> system
>> have to do with whether I will be able to achieve my goals with it in 
>> the
>> future, I thought I would ask this question here.  I am not, by 
>> nature, a
>> lover of Windows and would like to make a change to Linux or Mac.  I'm
>> actually think of a dual- or even triple-boot set up, but while I'm 
>> shopping
>> want to find out what others are using and how.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> How do Mac, Linux and Windows stack up in terms of accessibility and the
>> ability to interface with adaptive software and technology?  I was a
>> computer consultant when I got my beloved but now geriatric current 
>> system,
>> so I went with Windows because that was what all my clients used and I
>> needed to know how to answer their questions and do my thing with their
>> systems.  I was living in a very rural part of the state, so had a 
>> small and
>> not entirely savvy market to work with, so my services involved a 
>> little bit
>> of everything.
>>
>>
>>
>> So then life happened - specifically violent crime - and three years 
>> later
>> I've got my body back to some sort of working order.  And everything has
>> changed!  I might as well have a nice resume as a dinosaur wrangler! 
>> /lol/
>> I love the rapid changes in technology and applications when I'm in 
>> the game
>> and racing to keep up with them, but it is very odd to once again be 
>> a total
>> ignoramus.  I had to go to the teenagers in the neighborhood to learn 
>> about
>> what's going on with the internet.  /lol/
>>
>>
>>
>> Well, I have a long way to go, but the tech market here crashed and 
>> burned a
>> few months ago, so I'm back to consulting as my best option to get 
>> into the
>> field again.  I think I want to focus more on the application
>> design/development end of my skills and talents, since that's really the
>> best fit for me.  But I use graphs and flowcharts heavily, so need to be
>> able to work with them and create them.  I would also like to aim 
>> towards
>> systems design/analysis, so there's the math and graphing again.
>>
>>
>>
>> That all may be a pipe dream, but I want to build in the foundations 
>> for it
>> when I buy my new system.  So the operating system's capacity for
>> interacting with adaptive software and tools is the Number One
>> considerations.  Besides, one thing I *will* do is go on studying math!
>> Last I check, three years ago, I can't go to any college in this city 
>> - and
>> it's our state's major metropolitan area - to study  math if I'm 
>> going to be
>> all unrealistic and want textbooks I can read or a means to complete
>> assignments and other such frivolities.  I would add a smile for sarcasm
>> there, but that's actually what I've been told, and I do not find it
>> amusing.  I like studying math in a university setting, being around 
>> others
>> who are studying math because they love it, soaking in all the extra
>> knowledge one can get from a professor, and I want the credit for my 
>> career,
>> but.  I'm a sort of compulsive self-studier anyway, and I can't stand 
>> being
>> a math ignoramus anymore, so I plan to learn to do math nonvisually, 
>> then
>> find materials to use in taking my skills to the next level, and the 
>> next
>> one after that.  Maybe domeday I will find a way to take a test so 
>> that I
>> can get that college credit for it, which is a good thing to have on the
>> resume!  /smile/
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>>
>>
>> Tami Smith-Kinney
>>
>>
>>
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