[nfbcs] VINUX on non PAE Question

[Blaine Clark]

Have you tried to load a good DVD of Vinux 4 on your laptop and if so, 
how did it go? Also, what brand and model laptop are you using?
Vinux is Ubuntu that's been altered to be more easily accessible. Ubuntu 
has limited accessibility built into the Live install package. Normally, 
when you boot Ubuntu from DVD or USB as soon as you hear the sound of 
drums you can press one or more keys to start the screen reader or other 
assistive aids. This has changed a bit from one version to the next and 
can get confusing as Ubuntu experiments. They are trying to incorporate 
several different accessibility modes into their system such as 
mobility, low vision, blind and deaf-blind access to allow users to 
install, setup and use their own computer operating system. Since this 
has been in flux since at least 2008, Vinux was started to simplify this 
for blind and deaf-blind users so that screen readers and Braille device 
drivers start automatically during the Live Boot  process without anyone 
having to determine the proper accessibility keys for each disability 
for each version of Ubuntu released.
Since you have Ubuntu 12.04 installed, you could go ahead and try it out 
to see what differences Vinux has made to the default setups that Ubuntu 
has incorporated so far by installing a dual boot with Vinux alongside 
Ubuntu. That would give you the options to boot into Ubuntu or Vinux 
when you start your laptop. Vinux developers have altered some of the 
keystrokes from what I understand, and they have also removed a few 
programs and replaced them with more accessible programs that are similar.
Also note that the current Long Term Supported release for Ubuntu is 
14.04 and that the latest Vinux release is also based on 14.04. Be 
advised though that Ubuntu 12.4 was the first release to use the Unity 
desktop style and that Orca, the screen reader for the GUI interface, 
can be very unstable. This is not fixable unless you have extensive 
experience with Ubuntu and with repackaging, so if you experience 
problems with Orca and Ubuntu Unity, your best bet is to scrap that 
installation and overwrite it with a Vinux 4 installation.
Because of the changes that the Vinux developers have made to Ubuntu, 
Vinux is a very different system from Ubuntu in reality. When Vinux 
began, back in 2006 I believe, they had a script that one could run on 
an Ubuntu installation to 'Vinuxify' Ubuntu, but that has become much 
too complicated and too in-depth a process to use on later Ubuntu 
versions. Vinux now is just about as different from Ubuntu as Linux Mint 
is. I use Linux Mint which is also a fork of Ubuntu. I only use some 
enlargement with a bit of magnification once in a while and Mint does 
very well for me, much better than Microsoft ever did. When Ubuntu 
switched to the Unity desktop style with version 12.04, the Vinux 
developers actually considered switching from Ubuntu to Linux Mint 
because the Unity style is not nearly as accessible friendly as the 
desktop styles related to Gnome, which Linux Mint has taken great effort 
to retain as much as possible in their options of several different 
desktop styles. I'm currently using Linux Mint 17, XFCE which is not as 
low vision friendly as the Linux Mint 17 Mate style. I'm going to stick 
with it though, for at least another month or so to give it a real 
chance, but I believe I'll be going back to the Mate style.
By the way, anyone with low vision looking for a replacement for their 
Microsoft, be it XP or Win-8.x, I highly recommend Linux Mint 17 Mate. 
If you want super magnification you can hook up to a HD TV and enlarge 
or magnify to your heart's content. I had a rig made to mount a web cam 
on over a table. I could magnify any printed material and even any 
appliances or other equipment I could get onto the table and very 
clearly see to work on or to read anything. I used a Linux program 
called Cheese with the web cam and magnified with another Linux program 
called KMag. By transferring that to our 40" HD TV, and as long as the 
resolution was adjustable and good enough from the camera, I could make 
out scratches on the dates of coins. I nearly had a flat surface 
microscope with that setup. If I had spent more money on a high 
resolution web cam, I think I might have had a flat surface microscope! 
That would be a great tool for use in a classroom with either low vision 
or regular vision students wouldn't it? Can you imagine the science 
projects a teacher could show? Or how about presenting printed or 
graphic material for a low vision group? There are several projector 
programs to use in Linux too, so an auditorium presentation isn't out of 
bounds either.

Blaine