[nfbcs] Helping a software engineer keep his job

[John G. Heim]

We pretty regularly have discussions of linux accessibility on this 
list.  If you'd come in a few days earlier, you'd have seen a couple 
dozen messages on that very topic. Personally, I am glad to see it. I 
think linux is a great career path for a blind sIT person.

I do programming and systems admin for the Math Department at the 
University of Wisconsin. I use linux full time on my desktop and all of 
our servers are linux. There is only one screen reader for the linux 
graphical user interface, orca. Orca is not as stable as jaws. It's kind 
of got a lot of bugs. Don't get me wrong, I think the orca developers 
are great. But it's a tough job.  I feel I am about as productive as a 
blind person can be using orca. I do have to deal with the bugs and 
crashes but it's not so bad that I think I am seriously hampered by it.

As I said, we just had a discussion on how to start with linux and orca. 
I think it's tough to say whether it is better to start with a version 
of linux customized for the blind or if that is counter productive. I 
think if my job depended on it, I'd start with a custom distro. There 
are 2 custom distros for the blind, sonar and vinux.  I would use the 
one closer to the one that other people in my company are using. Sonar 
is a fork of manjaro linux which is in turn a fork of arch. Vinux is a 
fork of ubuntu which is, in turn, a fork of debian.


On 10/17/14 10:47, Gary Wunder via nfbcs wrote:
> Several days ago I was contacted by a software engineer who is going blind.
> He uses the Linux operating system, and what he really needs is a way to
> efficiently do the things that are required of him as a programmer for
> Lockheed Martin. His employer seems to be willing to get him any equipment
> that might help him in his job, so they have gotten him Zoom text, the
> K1000, and I think they have even purchased several copies of JAWS for
> Windows for him to use on several computers. Of course all of these are
> based on Microsoft Windows, and what he really needs to interact with is a
> Linux box. He has figured out a way to do some terminal emulation that lets
> him use screen reading technology, but all of the workarounds really make it
> difficult for him to do what once was efficient.
>
>
>
> Do any of you have ideas about how to help him? My impression is that he is
> smart, motivated, well regarded by his employer, but at his wits in as to
> how to do his job and to meet the deadlines that are being offered. He is
> monitoring this list and will appreciate any comments that people care to
> give. I will be monitoring the list, but I will be on vacation and rather
> out of touch for the next ten days or so. I thank all of you for thinking
> about this and giving him your best ideas. His name is Graham Mehl.
>
>
>
> Warmly,
>
>
>
> Gary
>
> Linix operating system
>
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