- Blind-sysadmins - lists.hodgsonfamily.org

Pro xpn vpn
by David Mehler 10 Jun '14

10 Jun '14

Hello, Does anyone use Pro xpn with a screen reader? If so, how well does it work for remote network/system access? Thanks. Dave.

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Looking for admins to talk about accessibility
by Ben Mustill-Rose 09 Jun '14

09 Jun '14

Hi all, Dolphin (www.yourdolphin.com) are interested in the challenges that blind system administrators are facing in the workplace with the aim of investigating how feasible it would be to increase the accessibility of some widely used applications with their SuperNova suite of products. If you are an admin and are interested in starting an email dialog with Dolphin, please make yourself known either on or off list and I will send you the contact information for the relevant person. Initially, it would probably just be a case of a few emails going back & forth with you telling them what applications you are required to / would like to use & talking about some of the problems that are preventing you from being as productive as you'd like. With all due respect, the people that I'm really hoping will reach out are the people who are actually doing this as their 9 to 5, purely so that we can make sure that all information that Dolphin receive is completely accurate - this is one of the reasons why I as a hobbyist am not providing any information to them myself. I feel it is also important to stress that at the moment Dolphin are only performing information gathering. My contact would genuinely like to help blind admins and is well placed internally to allocate developer time towards increasing accessibility of specific products, but as I'm sure you're all aware, time is money and any time spent making program x accessible would need to be justifiable. Having said this, I don't anticipate initial discussions taking overly long so hopefully some of you will agree that it's worth a shot. As per above, if you're interested in getting involved, please let me know on or off list & I'll get the ball rolling. Cheers, Ben.

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Looking for admins to talk about accessibility
by Ben Mustill-Rose 06 Jun '14

06 Jun '14

Hi all, Dolphin (www.yourdolphin.com) are interested in the challenges that blind system administrators are facing in the workplace with the aim of investigating how feasible it would be to increase the accessibility of some widely used applications with their SuperNova suite of products. If you are an admin and are interested in starting an email dialog with Dolphin, please make yourself known either on or off list and I will send you the contact information for the relevant person. Initially, it would probably just be a case of a few emails going back & forth with you telling them what applications you are required to / would like to use & talking about some of the problems that are preventing you from being as productive as you'd like. With all due respect, the people that I'm really hoping will reach out are the people who are actually doing this as their 9 to 5, purely so that we can make sure that all information that Dolphin receive is completely accurate - this is one of the reasons why I as a hobbyist am not providing any information to them myself. I feel it is also important to stress that at the moment Dolphin are only performing information gathering. My contact would genuinely like to help blind admins and is well placed internally to allocate developer time towards increasing accessibility of specific products, but as I'm sure you're all aware, time is money and any time spent making program x accessible would need to be justifiable. Having said this, I don't anticipate initial discussions taking overly long so hopefully some of you will agree that it's worth a shot. As per above, if you're interested in getting involved, please let me know on or off list & I'll get the ball rolling. Cheers, Ben.

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Career path, desktop, server?
by chris 05 Jun '14

05 Jun '14

HI guys. I hope this is OK to ask here. I'm a would-be IT professional who's interests lie particularly in servers and networking. Currently volunteering, gaining experience with Linux, wireless networking, troubleshooting. I use VMs to teach myself some system admin using Linux and Windows Server 2012. In trying to gain employment in IT I've been applying for first line / help desk type jobs. Now obviously a lot of these are asking for hands on, break and rebuild skills, managing printers, etc. Basically stuff I'm not too good at, you only have so much hardware to practise on, and can't really see me doing as a major function of a role, as a blind person. I've been turned down for such roles in the past basically on H and S considerations. I know, there may be many of you with severe sight impairment who have done this sort of work, if so, feel free to tell me I'm wrong, how it went etc. But what I'm wondering is. Is it worth me struggling to study desktop support stuff, given the difficulties I see in gaining those hands on roles. Should I devote my efforts to servers, infrastructure, web application support stuff instead, which I find more interesting anyway? Is the only way in through the desktop support positions? For what it's worth I apply for junior Linux, networking positions and more phone based help desk roles where I see them of course. Regards Chris Turner

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laptop tracking
by Ibraam Wahib 30 May '14

30 May '14

hello friends wish you help me in this problem, and sorry if it off topic my friend's laptop has been stolen, unfortionatly he wasn't install any tracking software, is any solution to track it by serial via internet? it's dell laptop i5, os windows7. any help will be appreciated

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laptop tracking
by Ibraam Wahib 30 May '14

30 May '14

hello friends wish you help me in this problem, and sorry if it off topic my friend's laptop has been stolen, unfortionatly he wasn't install any tracking software, is any solution to track it by serial via internet? it's dell laptop i5, os windows7. any help will be appreciated

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Can't log onto a Windows Vista PC
by Barry Toner 28 May '14

28 May '14

Folks Have any of you seen this before? I've been given a PC with no details just get it working for user X. When I try and log in I've got the ctrl, alt, del, then the standard type un/pass. there are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request is theerror messages I keep getting, tried logging on locally, tried connecting PC to Ethernet I Tried booting into a Windows PE, changing the username for the local accounts, which was the only way I was able to find out what th elcoal accounts where. in the SAM DB. Any suggestions? Thanks, Barry. Barry Toner IT Assistant IT Department Clanmil Housing Northern Whig House 3 Waring Street Belfast BT1 2DX Tel: 02890 876000 Fax: 02890 876001

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Can't log onto a Windows Vista PC
by Barry Toner 28 May '14

28 May '14

Folks Have any of you seen this before? I've been given a PC with no details just get it working for user X. When I try and log in I've got the ctrl, alt, del, then the standard type un/pass. there are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request is theerror messages I keep getting, tried logging on locally, tried connecting PC to Ethernet I Tried booting into a Windows PE, changing the username for the local accounts, which was the only way I was able to find out what th elcoal accounts where. in the SAM DB. Any suggestions? Thanks, Barry. Barry Toner IT Assistant IT Department Clanmil Housing Northern Whig House 3 Waring Street Belfast BT1 2DX Tel: 02890 876000 Fax: 02890 876001

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
by vic.pereira＠ssc-spc.gc.ca 23 May '14

23 May '14

Excellent points on appearance. I've been on several hiring boards as the only person with a vision impairment. There were times when a candidate was moved to the bottom of the queue due to their appearance. Those people could have come up with the most eloquent responses, however the sighted people on the panel could not hear anything that was being said. During the evaluation of each individuals comments would be made like who wears track pants to an interview, that person looked like they were working in the garden before coming here, may be someone should tell that person it is OK to wash their hair from time to time and so on. It is not required to always wear a suit and tie, but clean slacks/skirt and a well kempt top doesn't hurt. People have told me they have the right to wear what they want which is true. And they also have the right to ignore the culture that has formed in the places they are trying to get a job. We need to keep in mind they also have the right to hire whomever they want. So if we are not prepared to play their game; it is a challenge to get them to play our game. Often by the time someone gets to the interview it is because they have the necessary qualifications, an excellent résumé, the skills needed or whatever. By the interview stage it is often to select the best fit. I always coach people on not using generic cookie cutter résumés, show up early, because if they are running ahead of schedule moving things along is always appreciated, wear a clean outfit, scrub up a bit, be polite to the person doing the greeting in the waiting area, brush your dog, may be avoid smoking just before going in since the smell lingers on clothing, etc. BTW in Canada smoking is not a right, it is a habit. They can ask during the hiring process if the candidate is a smoker. Some of us are extraverts and some of us are introverts. In either case we might have to step out of our comfort zones and say good morning or hello. Walking in then mumbling a name then sitting down in a corner waiting to be called might achieve a different result than expected. Whether we like it or not, from time to time people on the hiring panel will ask the people in the reception area for their opinion on the first impression they received. What I have found to be helpful after an unsuccessful attempt to get another job (believe me I've had several of those) is to arrange to speak with someone responsible for hiring the person to find out what they thought I said and what they were looking for in a candidate. It isn't easy at times asking people to open up and talk about my short comings, and it may be something I don't want to hear, however it is helpful. The up side is often people are very good about letting me know what they liked as well. That gives me something on which I can build. Vic

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
by vic.pereira＠ssc-spc.gc.ca 23 May '14

23 May '14

Excellent points on appearance. I've been on several hiring boards as the only person with a vision impairment. There were times when a candidate was moved to the bottom of the queue due to their appearance. Those people could have come up with the most eloquent responses, however the sighted people on the panel could not hear anything that was being said. During the evaluation of each individuals comments would be made like who wears track pants to an interview, that person looked like they were working in the garden before coming here, may be someone should tell that person it is OK to wash their hair from time to time and so on. It is not required to always wear a suit and tie, but clean slacks/skirt and a well kempt top doesn't hurt. People have told me they have the right to wear what they want which is true. And they also have the right to ignore the culture that has formed in the places they are trying to get a job. We need to keep in mind they also have the right to hire whomever they want. So if we are not prepared to play their game; it is a challenge to get them to play our game. Often by the time someone gets to the interview it is because they have the necessary qualifications, an excellent résumé, the skills needed or whatever. By the interview stage it is often to select the best fit. I always coach people on not using generic cookie cutter résumés, show up early, because if they are running ahead of schedule moving things along is always appreciated, wear a clean outfit, scrub up a bit, be polite to the person doing the greeting in the waiting area, brush your dog, may be avoid smoking just before going in since the smell lingers on clothing, etc. BTW in Canada smoking is not a right, it is a habit. They can ask during the hiring process if the candidate is a smoker. Some of us are extraverts and some of us are introverts. In either case we might have to step out of our comfort zones and say good morning or hello. Walking in then mumbling a name then sitting down in a corner waiting to be called might achieve a different result than expected. Whether we like it or not, from time to time people on the hiring panel will ask the people in the reception area for their opinion on the first impression they received. What I have found to be helpful after an unsuccessful attempt to get another job (believe me I've had several of those) is to arrange to speak with someone responsible for hiring the person to find out what they thought I said and what they were looking for in a candidate. It isn't easy at times asking people to open up and talk about my short comings, and it may be something I don't want to hear, however it is helpful. The up side is often people are very good about letting me know what they liked as well. That gives me something on which I can build. Vic

1 0