[nabs-l] Fwd: Vinux 1.4 Released!

[David Andrews]

>From: "Anthony Sales" <tony.sales at rncb.ac.uk>
>
>I am happy to announce the release of Vinux 1.4!
>
>Vinux a free and open source operating system which has been optimised for
>visually impaired
>users. It is based on the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution and built around
>the Orca
>screen-reader/magnifier. It is designed to boot your computer, log you in
>automatically
>and then start up the Orca screen-reader with Braille support. Full-screen
>magnification can then be activated with a simple keystroke.
>
>New Features for 1.4!
>
>Security: Unlike previous versions Vinux 1.4 has been built from scratch
>using the Ubuntu 'mini.iso' 10MB network installation which means it
>contains all of the latest packages and security patches as of the day of
>release.
>
>Audible Boot Prompt: The Live CD now sounds the system bell three times
>when the boot prompt appears on the screen, which then gives you thirty
>seconds to type in any cheatcodes or boot options you require.
>e.g. typing 'textonly' will boot into console only mode, you can then
>type 'yasr' to start a console based screen-reader.
>
>Braille Displays: The Live CD now supports a wide variety of serial Braille
>displays in edition to the automatic detection of USB Braille displays.
>In order to use a serial Braille display or a USB Braille display with a
>different language table you simply have to type in a short code at the
>boot prompt. e.g. 'alde' for an Alva Serial display using the German
>language table, or 'alude' for an Alva USB  display using the german
>language table. There are a full list of cheatcodes included in the
>'cheatcodes_braille_displays.txt' on the CD. By default Vinux supports
>USB Braille displays using the en_uk language table.
>
>Talking Login Screen: Once installed espeak will now ask you to enter
>your username and password when the login screen is loaded providing you
>do not enable autologin during the installation process. It will not
>however echo what you type, but if you enter the wrong username and/or
>password you will be asked to enter them again. It is important that you
>should not enable autologin if you are using a wifi connection as the keyring
>manager workaround detailed below depends upon a manual login to work!
>
>Keyring Manager Workaround: Vinux now includes a workaround of sorts for the
>keyring manager which is currently inaccessible with Orca. We have set up a
>pre-configured keyring password 'vinux' which is retained on both the Live CD
>and a full install. This means that when you try to connect to a wifi
>network and Orca stops speaking when the keyring manager password dialog box
>opens, you simply have to type 'vinux' into this box and as long as
>autologin is not enabled you will never have to enter the keyring password
>again.
>
>Lynx Fix: Lynx, Netrik and Firefox now use a local copy of the vinux.org.uk
>homepage as their starting URL's by default which means that you can
>open the browsers without problems whether you have an active internet
>connection or not.
>
>Menu Entries for Console Applications: I have added menu entries for some
>of the extra console based applications provided in Vinux. This is to enable
>beginners who may not know the names of these applications or their way
>around
>the console to find and experiment with them more easily.
>
>Download Vinux 1.4 - http://vinux.org.uk/downloads/old/1.4/Vinux-1.4.iso
>Check md5sum - http://vinux.org.uk/downloads/old/1.4/Vinux-1.4.iso.md5sum.txt
>Vinux Homepage - http://vinux.org.uk/index.php
>
>Full lists of all of the Keybindings for Vinux, Orca, Gnome and Yasr can be
>found
>in the Vinux folder in the the home directory.
>
>Credits: I would like to thank Osvaldo La Rosa for all his hard work
>in providing the audible beeps and the Braille display cheatcodes,
>and David Knight for suggesting the workaround for the keyring
>manager bug!
>
>
>drbongo 24/03/2009

David Andrews and white cane Harry.