[nfbcs] Helping a software engineer keep his job

[David Tseng]

Hi,

I think without a fuller description of the software engineer's current
setup and level of sight, it's difficult to say exactly what will meet his
assistive technology needs.

With that said, I have a few recommendations that may help or lead to more
questions and answers. Firstly, this list is probably not the greatest one
to ask about linux as it does have a slight or perhaps major Windows bias.
For that reason, I would ask on the Orca, Gnome A11y, Speak Up, and
Emacspeak lists. These are the folks who are using those products day to
day for both work and play.
Secondly, if he already knows Emacs, I would highly suggest he pick up
Emacspeak. It's pretty much the best in class development environment for
perhaps any software engineer who uses speech on any platform. It does have
a decidedly high learning curve, most of which involves learning Emacs and
core linux system management. I'm assuming he doesn't know braille;
otherwise, Brltty is fabulous for post boot access to a linux shell
environment.

Finally, I'd be happy to chat offline as some things are better discussed
in a less latent medium as email.

HTH,
David


On Fri, Oct 17, 2014 at 8:47 AM, Gary Wunder via nfbcs <nfbcs at nfbnet.org>
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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