Right, I suspect that was the intent of the original question. Many of the live linux CDs are already accessible. GRML, ubuntu, and vinux are examples. I would tend to favor vinux since it is intended especially for blind users. Their web site is at vinuxproject.org. Also, almost every distro supplies information on how to remaster their bootable CDs. GRML has a package specifically for that. I used to remaster the GRML boot CD to make it come up talking with my choice of hardware speech synth. That way, in an emergency, I didn't have to fuss with hotkeys. Plus I'd get speech earlier in the boot process. I haven't done it for a while because the existing bootable CDs are getting better and better. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darragh OHeiligh" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? I have never heard of a way of doing this. It would be fantastic if it was possible though. If it's just partitioning you need for an example you may be able to use gpartit on the Ubuntu live CD. In other words, depending on the problem your trying to tackle you may find that a distribution has an accessible too tha twill do the job from the live CD. Regards Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 13/04/2011 14:34 Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Hi guys, for those of you who use linux, I have a question regarding integration of audio as well as speech in to existing live cds. Assuming you know or heard of a program called parted magic, or perhaps any program that uses linux for getting a job done, be it an anti-virus or utility program, Is it possible to have audio support so as to integrate orca? If perhaps these things can't be done, forgive my ignorance, I've really not used linux ever! Regards _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

The makers of live CDs try to make them include as many drivers as possible so that their CD will work for as many people as possible. With all the work that goes into making a live CD, they want to appeal to as large a group of users as possible. Yes, you could remaster a CD to include drivers for your hardware. But it probably won't be necessary unless you are running on absolutely brand new hardware. And it would not be easy for a beginner to remaster a CD. You would have to gain some familiarity with linux before trying that. But as I have said many times on this list, in my opinion, learning linux is a really good thing to do for your career. Its hardly a drawback at all being blind for a linux systems admin. Everything is done remotely and mostly at the command line. Almost all the configuration files are plain text. And there are a lot of jobs for linux systems admins at colleges and universities which, if you're disabled, are good places to work. Of course, I'm not entirely sure that your time wouldn't be better spent learning more about Windows systems administration. It could be that no matter how much you know about Windows, spending your time learning still more is better for your career than taking the time to learn linux. But I am employed today because I took the time to learn linux and I've never regretted doing that. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:46 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Hi John and Darragh, Thanks for the information. I realise if I do want to get in to this, I'd really need to know alot about linux. I'm considering trying it out. But all the command stuff scares me, gosh, i'm too spoilt by windows perhaps. However I'd just like to ask a few questions please? @darragh: How does one know whether a live cd will be accessible or not? Is there anything that one should look for? @John, When you speak of remastering, Does this mean that I could add drivers perhaps for my sound card? add orca to the live cd? and any other dependents needed for orca to work? Also, when you say that live cd's are getting better, would this also mean that companies who make their own live cd's by removing information that is unnecessary to reduce space so that only their program works I.e. they remove drivers for audio as well as any unwanted program support since it may not be useful in what they want to achieve. are now starting to add accessibility? Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3:47 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Right, I suspect that was the intent of the original question. Many of the live linux CDs are already accessible. GRML, ubuntu, and vinux are examples. I would tend to favor vinux since it is intended especially for blind users. Their web site is at vinuxproject.org. Also, almost every distro supplies information on how to remaster their bootable CDs. GRML has a package specifically for that. I used to remaster the GRML boot CD to make it come up talking with my choice of hardware speech synth. That way, in an emergency, I didn't have to fuss with hotkeys. Plus I'd get speech earlier in the boot process. I haven't done it for a while because the existing bootable CDs are getting better and better. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darragh OHeiligh" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? I have never heard of a way of doing this. It would be fantastic if it was possible though. If it's just partitioning you need for an example you may be able to use gpartit on the Ubuntu live CD. In other words, depending on the problem your trying to tackle you may find that a distribution has an accessible too tha twill do the job from the live CD. Regards Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 13/04/2011 14:34 Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Hi guys, for those of you who use linux, I have a question regarding integration of audio as well as speech in to existing live cds. Assuming you know or heard of a program called parted magic, or perhaps any program that uses linux for getting a job done, be it an anti-virus or utility program, Is it possible to have audio support so as to integrate orca? If perhaps these things can't be done, forgive my ignorance, I've really not used linux ever! Regards _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Zameer, where do u live? On 4/14/11, Zameer Mahomed wrote:

Hi John,

Thank you so much for your info about live cd's. and advice on reasons to learning about linux, it was really well elaborated and very motivating.

My reasons for shying away from linux so-to-speak is: There's so much of information, I really don't know where to start. Then you hear of different distros, which one does one choose? and then the commandline stuff. Its not that I've totally never used a command line based application, I do know a fair amount, and I sometimes still write batch files but, in linux almost everything is commandline based, which can be quite dawnting.

But like I said, you really gave some good advice and when I do find somewhere to start, I'll give it ago definitely, I've not pushed it away as being totally not for me.

Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

The makers of live CDs try to make them include as many drivers as possible so that their CD will work for as many people as possible. With all the work that goes into making a live CD, they want to appeal to as large a group of users as possible.

Yes, you could remaster a CD to include drivers for your hardware. But it probably won't be necessary unless you are running on absolutely brand new hardware. And it would not be easy for a beginner to remaster a CD. You would have to gain some familiarity with linux before trying that.

But as I have said many times on this list, in my opinion, learning linux is a really good thing to do for your career. Its hardly a drawback at all being blind for a linux systems admin. Everything is done remotely and mostly at the command line. Almost all the configuration files are plain text. And there are a lot of jobs for linux systems admins at colleges and universities which, if you're disabled, are good places to work.

Of course, I'm not entirely sure that your time wouldn't be better spent learning more about Windows systems administration. It could be that no matter how much you know about Windows, spending your time learning still more is better for your career than taking the time to learn linux. But I am employed today because I took the time to learn linux and I've never regretted doing that.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:46 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Hi John and Darragh,

Thanks for the information. I realise if I do want to get in to this, I'd really need to know alot about linux. I'm considering trying it out. But all the command stuff scares me, gosh, i'm too spoilt by windows perhaps.

However I'd just like to ask a few questions please? @darragh: How does one know whether a live cd will be accessible or not? Is there anything that one should look for?

@John, When you speak of remastering, Does this mean that I could add drivers perhaps for my sound card? add orca to the live cd? and any other dependents needed for orca to work? Also, when you say that live cd's are getting better, would this also mean that companies who make their own live cd's by removing information that is unnecessary to reduce space so that only their program works I.e. they remove drivers for audio as well as any unwanted program support since it may not be useful in what they want to achieve. are now starting to add accessibility?

Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3:47 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Right, I suspect that was the intent of the original question. Many of the live linux CDs are already accessible. GRML, ubuntu, and vinux are examples. I would tend to favor vinux since it is intended especially for blind users. Their web site is at vinuxproject.org.

Also, almost every distro supplies information on how to remaster their bootable CDs. GRML has a package specifically for that. I used to remaster the GRML boot CD to make it come up talking with my choice of hardware speech synth. That way, in an emergency, I didn't have to fuss with hotkeys. Plus I'd get speech earlier in the boot process. I haven't done it for a while because the existing bootable CDs are getting better and better.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Darragh OHeiligh" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

I have never heard of a way of doing this. It would be fantastic if it was possible though.

If it's just partitioning you need for an example you may be able to use gpartit on the Ubuntu live CD. In other words, depending on the problem your trying to tackle you may find that a distribution has an accessible too tha twill do the job from the live CD.

Regards

Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu

Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie

From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 13/04/2011 14:34 Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org

Hi guys,

for those of you who use linux, I have a question regarding integration of audio as well as speech in to existing live cds.

Assuming you know or heard of a program called parted magic, or perhaps any program that uses linux for getting a job done, be it an anti-virus or utility program,

Is it possible to have audio support so as to integrate orca?

If perhaps these things can't be done, forgive my ignorance, I've really not used linux ever!

Regards _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

-- Blame the computer--why not? It can't defend itself & occasionally might even be the culprit Jackie McBride Jaws Scripting training materials: www.screenreaderscripting.com homePage: www.abletec.serverheaven.net

John, I am also interested in Linux. Which version of Linux is best to work on without sight. I am currently working on a masters in computer science and there is a Windows / Linux class in my future. Greg B. Greg B. -----Original Message----- From: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:01 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Yeah, I spent months and months teaching myself linux systems administration. It wasn't easy, that's for sure. But I was getting "backwatered" in my old job. That's my term for the process of marginallizing a blind systems administrator by not giving them the juicy assignments. When a new technology comes out, the boss never lets the blind guy play with it. Someone else gets that assignment. Eventually, no matter how good you are, you are left dealing with all the old stuff. And that's not good for job security. I saw the handwriting on the wall and taught myself linux systems administration. I just went to a used computer store and bought a real cheap PC with no operating system on it. Then I sent away for Red Hat installation CDs. This was before the days of high speed home internet. Then I got to work. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 2:17 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Hi John, Thank you so much for your info about live cd's. and advice on reasons to learning about linux, it was really well elaborated and very motivating. My reasons for shying away from linux so-to-speak is: There's so much of information, I really don't know where to start. Then you hear of different distros, which one does one choose? and then the commandline stuff. Its not that I've totally never used a command line based application, I do know a fair amount, and I sometimes still write batch files but, in linux almost everything is commandline based, which can be quite dawnting. But like I said, you really gave some good advice and when I do find somewhere to start, I'll give it ago definitely, I've not pushed it away as being totally not for me. Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? The makers of live CDs try to make them include as many drivers as possible so that their CD will work for as many people as possible. With all the work that goes into making a live CD, they want to appeal to as large a group of users as possible. Yes, you could remaster a CD to include drivers for your hardware. But it probably won't be necessary unless you are running on absolutely brand new hardware. And it would not be easy for a beginner to remaster a CD. You would have to gain some familiarity with linux before trying that. But as I have said many times on this list, in my opinion, learning linux is a really good thing to do for your career. Its hardly a drawback at all being blind for a linux systems admin. Everything is done remotely and mostly at the command line. Almost all the configuration files are plain text. And there are a lot of jobs for linux systems admins at colleges and universities which, if you're disabled, are good places to work. Of course, I'm not entirely sure that your time wouldn't be better spent learning more about Windows systems administration. It could be that no matter how much you know about Windows, spending your time learning still more is better for your career than taking the time to learn linux. But I am employed today because I took the time to learn linux and I've never regretted doing that. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:46 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Hi John and Darragh, Thanks for the information. I realise if I do want to get in to this, I'd really need to know alot about linux. I'm considering trying it out. But all the command stuff scares me, gosh, i'm too spoilt by windows perhaps. However I'd just like to ask a few questions please? @darragh: How does one know whether a live cd will be accessible or not? Is there anything that one should look for? @John, When you speak of remastering, Does this mean that I could add drivers perhaps for my sound card? add orca to the live cd? and any other dependents needed for orca to work? Also, when you say that live cd's are getting better, would this also mean that companies who make their own live cd's by removing information that is unnecessary to reduce space so that only their program works I.e. they remove drivers for audio as well as any unwanted program support since it may not be useful in what they want to achieve. are now starting to add accessibility? Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3:47 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Right, I suspect that was the intent of the original question. Many of the live linux CDs are already accessible. GRML, ubuntu, and vinux are examples. I would tend to favor vinux since it is intended especially for blind users. Their web site is at vinuxproject.org. Also, almost every distro supplies information on how to remaster their bootable CDs. GRML has a package specifically for that. I used to remaster the GRML boot CD to make it come up talking with my choice of hardware speech synth. That way, in an emergency, I didn't have to fuss with hotkeys. Plus I'd get speech earlier in the boot process. I haven't done it for a while because the existing bootable CDs are getting better and better. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darragh OHeiligh" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? I have never heard of a way of doing this. It would be fantastic if it was possible though. If it's just partitioning you need for an example you may be able to use gpartit on the Ubuntu live CD. In other words, depending on the problem your trying to tackle you may find that a distribution has an accessible too tha twill do the job from the live CD. Regards Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 13/04/2011 14:34 Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Hi guys, for those of you who use linux, I have a question regarding integration of audio as well as speech in to existing live cds. Assuming you know or heard of a program called parted magic, or perhaps any program that uses linux for getting a job done, be it an anti-virus or utility program, Is it possible to have audio support so as to integrate orca? If perhaps these things can't be done, forgive my ignorance, I've really not used linux ever! Regards _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

John,

I am also interested in Linux. Which version of Linux is best to work on without sight. I am currently working on a masters in computer science and there is a Windows / Linux class in my future.

Greg B.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:01 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Yeah, I spent months and months teaching myself linux systems administration. It wasn't easy, that's for sure. But I was getting "backwatered" in my old job. That's my term for the process of marginallizing a blind systems administrator by not giving them the juicy assignments. When a new technology comes out, the boss never lets the blind guy play with it. Someone else gets that assignment. Eventually, no matter how good you are, you are left dealing with all the old stuff. And

not good for job security.

I saw the handwriting on the wall and taught myself linux systems administration. I just went to a used computer store and bought a real cheap

PC with no operating system on it. Then I sent away for Red Hat installation

CDs. This was before the days of high speed home internet. Then I got to work.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 2:17 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Hi John,

Thank you so much for your info about live cd's. and advice on reasons to learning about linux, it was really well elaborated and very motivating.

My reasons for shying away from linux so-to-speak is: There's so much of information, I really don't know where to start. Then you hear of different distros, which one does one choose? and then the commandline stuff. Its not that I've totally never used a command line based application, I do know a fair amount, and I sometimes still write batch files but, in

almost everything is commandline based, which can be quite dawnting.

But like I said, you really gave some good advice and when I do find somewhere to start, I'll give it ago definitely, I've not pushed it away as being totally not for me.

Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

The makers of live CDs try to make them include as many drivers as

so that their CD will work for as many people as possible. With all the work that goes into making a live CD, they want to appeal to as large a group of users as possible.

Yes, you could remaster a CD to include drivers for your hardware. But it probably won't be necessary unless you are running on absolutely brand new hardware. And it would not be easy for a beginner to remaster a CD. You would have to gain some familiarity with linux before trying that.

But as I have said many times on this list, in my opinion, learning

a really good thing to do for your career. Its hardly a drawback at all being blind for a linux systems admin. Everything is done remotely and mostly at the command line. Almost all the configuration files are plain text. And there are a lot of jobs for linux systems admins at colleges and universities which, if you're disabled, are good places to work.

Of course, I'm not entirely sure that your time wouldn't be better spent learning more about Windows systems administration. It could be that no matter how much you know about Windows, spending your time learning still more is better for your career than taking the time to learn linux. But I am employed today because I took the time to learn linux and I've never regretted doing that.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:46 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Hi John and Darragh,

Thanks for the information. I realise if I do want to get in to this, I'd really need to know alot about linux. I'm considering trying it out. But all the command stuff scares me, gosh, i'm too spoilt by windows perhaps.

However I'd just like to ask a few questions please? @darragh: How does one know whether a live cd will be accessible or not? Is there anything that one should look for?

@John, When you speak of remastering, Does this mean that I could add drivers perhaps for my sound card? add orca to the live cd? and any other dependents needed for orca to work? Also, when you say that live cd's are getting better, would this also mean that companies who make their own live cd's by removing information that is unnecessary to reduce space so that only their program works I.e. they remove drivers for audio as well as any unwanted program support since it may not be useful in what they want to achieve. are now starting to add accessibility?

Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3:47 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Right, I suspect that was the intent of the original question. Many of

Zameer, I've worked with Distributions such as OpenSuSE, Debian, Red hat, Fedora, Ubuntu and of course Vinux and have tinkered with distributions such as Slackware, Mandriva, Gentoo and Knoppix. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. In my experience, it's best to look at the distribution from a non-accessibility related perspective first to figure out what it is exactly you want to accomplish. For example: OpenSuSE. YaST makes administration and configuration of the system very easy because almost everything can be done within one application. Debian: Packages are usually very stable and reliable. You won't get the most up to date software but it will be well tested. Fedora: This is a community driven distribution derived from the Red hat days when that distribution was also for home users. Fedora usually has bleeding edge applications and features. Ubuntu is Debian based. It usually tries to provide the latest and greatest applications. It's very reliable but it would have a shorter testing time compared to Debian before it releases updates. Vinux is now Ubuntu based again. It provides all of the functionality of Ubuntu but it has the added advantage of being customized to provide the best possible accessible experience. Gentoo is probably the most configurable and customizeable distribution out there. I love playing with it. You can compile the entire distribution from scratch from the boot loader to the kernel to the applications. You say what components are enabled and you leave everything else. It's lovely to work with but it takes time to get it running. Now accessibility: OpenSuSE have one person working full time on accessibility. Marco Scambrax is his name. He creates a screen reader that primarily outputs via Braille. This allows users with a supported Braille display complete a text based installation. The Live CD for OpenSuSE 11 and later can also be downloaded with Gnome as the main graphical environment and will now also speak the installation. A really nice feature of OpenSuSE is that the boot menu can even speak before the installation. This is incredibly useful. Especially when troubleshooting. YaST is still not perfect in terms of accessibility when using it in the graphical environment but they've made great progress in the past five years. If all else fails, using YaST with Orca in the console is adiquit for most work. debian supports Orca out of the box. There's a person who works closely with the Debian developers. I cant remember his name off the top of my head but look around and you'll find loads of information for installing and using Debian with Orca. Fedora use to be the distribution of choice for visually impaired users. I'm not sure what it's like any more. It's worth looking at www.speakupmodified.org or just downloading the live CD. I would be very surprised if there were issues with Orca running in it. I remember there were a vew versions a few years ago that caused issues with the audio system but I'm reasonably certain these are resolved at this stage. I would expect that this can be installed using the live CD by starting Orca or using the text based installer via the http:/www.speakupmodified.org website. Ubuntu is perfectly accessible. Look at http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more documentation on Orca and Ubuntu. You can start the Ubuntu live CD with speech by pressing f5, the number 3 then enter twice at the boot screen. Instructions detailing this process are scattered around the Internet. You could also look at the Linux section on www.lalrecording.com for an audio based introduction. Vinux will automatically come up talking. The installer is completely accessible and all screen reader and magnifications are preconfigured for you when the system is running. It is by far the best distribution for someone who just wants to learn about Linux and doesn't want to have to deal with accessibility however. It's very important to say that the best way of learning Linux is by fixing problems. With every problem you fix be it accessibility related or otherwise you'll learn a little more about how it all fits together. Don't be too afraid of chosing a distribution that isn't as accessible out of the box. You might find that it works out better for you in the long run. Then again, it can definitly be argued that it's very off putting when you start to work with a new system and you have to spend most of your time at the start getting it to work for you. Gentoo. well, I wouldn't suggest this for a new user but by using a live CD to get into a text console you'll be able to compile the Gentoo kernel with Speakup already installed so when you boot gentoo for the first time it will speak. I know this is a long Email. I'm sorry if it's too detailed. Regards Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie From: Jackie McBride To: Blind sysadmins list Date: 15/04/2011 01:30 Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Depends on what u wanna do, Greg. Vinux starts up talking by default & in x-windows. GRML does not start up talking by default, (though it can be made to) & starts up at the console. Slackware also does not come up talking by default & I believe starts in console mode if untampered with. Fedora can be made to talk w/some messin around. Adriane-knoppix also comes up talking & uses a very user-friendly text-driven menu to get newbys started. Klaus Knopper's wife is sight-impaired, so... The truth is that I think by default now Speakup is being built into the linux kernel, so it really may not matter as much. You'll probly have to do some tinkerin to get precisely what u want, which is, after all, 1 of the nice things about Linux. Vinux has a very newby-friendly community, so, for that reason alone, u may wish to start out w/that. It won't hurt u to learn x, though orca imo is still kinda clunky, & then move on quickly to the cli. I say orca's kinda clunky, but, in all fairness, they just don't have the people workin on it & I don't know how much commitment there is in the Linux dev community as a whole to accessibility. MS kinda has to cuz it's the law, but they do the bear minimum. HTH. On 4/14/11, Greg B. wrote: that's linux possible linux is the

live linux CDs are already accessible. GRML, ubuntu, and vinux are examples. I would tend to favor vinux since it is intended especially for blind users. Their web site is at vinuxproject.org.

Also, almost every distro supplies information on how to remaster their bootable CDs. GRML has a package specifically for that. I used to remaster the GRML boot CD to make it come up talking with my choice of hardware speech synth. That way, in an emergency, I didn't have to fuss with hotkeys. Plus I'd get speech earlier in the boot process. I haven't done it for a while because the existing bootable CDs are getting better and better.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Darragh OHeiligh" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

I have never heard of a way of doing this. It would be fantastic if it was possible though.

If it's just partitioning you need for an example you may be able to use gpartit on the Ubuntu live CD. In other words, depending on the problem your trying to tackle you may find that a distribution has an accessible too tha twill do the job from the live CD.

Regards

Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu

Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie

From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 13/04/2011 14:34 Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org

Hi guys,

for those of you who use linux, I have a question regarding integration of audio as well as speech in to existing live cds.

Assuming you know or heard of a program called parted magic, or perhaps any program that uses linux for getting a job done, be it an anti-virus or utility program,

Is it possible to have audio support so as to integrate orca?

If perhaps these things can't be done, forgive my ignorance, I've really not used linux ever!

Regards _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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-- Blame the computer--why not? It can't defend itself & occasionally might even be the culprit Jackie McBride Jaws Scripting training materials: www.screenreaderscripting.com homePage: www.abletec.serverheaven.net _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

John,

I am also interested in Linux. Which version of Linux is best to work on without sight. I am currently working on a masters in computer science and there is a Windows / Linux class in my future.

Greg B.

Greg B.

-----Original Message----- From: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of John G. Heim Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:01 PM To: Blind sysadmins list Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Yeah, I spent months and months teaching myself linux systems administration. It wasn't easy, that's for sure. But I was getting "backwatered" in my old job. That's my term for the process of marginallizing a blind systems administrator by not giving them the juicy assignments. When a new technology comes out, the boss never lets the blind guy play with it. Someone else gets that assignment. Eventually, no matter how good you are, you are left dealing with all the old stuff. And

not good for job security.

I saw the handwriting on the wall and taught myself linux systems administration. I just went to a used computer store and bought a real cheap

PC with no operating system on it. Then I sent away for Red Hat installation

CDs. This was before the days of high speed home internet. Then I got to work.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 2:17 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Hi John,

Thank you so much for your info about live cd's. and advice on reasons to learning about linux, it was really well elaborated and very motivating.

My reasons for shying away from linux so-to-speak is: There's so much of information, I really don't know where to start. Then you hear of different distros, which one does one choose? and then the commandline stuff. Its not that I've totally never used a command line based application, I do know a fair amount, and I sometimes still write batch files but, in

almost everything is commandline based, which can be quite dawnting.

But like I said, you really gave some good advice and when I do find somewhere to start, I'll give it ago definitely, I've not pushed it away as being totally not for me.

Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

The makers of live CDs try to make them include as many drivers as

so that their CD will work for as many people as possible. With all the work that goes into making a live CD, they want to appeal to as large a group of users as possible.

Yes, you could remaster a CD to include drivers for your hardware. But it probably won't be necessary unless you are running on absolutely brand new hardware. And it would not be easy for a beginner to remaster a CD. You would have to gain some familiarity with linux before trying that.

But as I have said many times on this list, in my opinion, learning

a really good thing to do for your career. Its hardly a drawback at all being blind for a linux systems admin. Everything is done remotely and mostly at the command line. Almost all the configuration files are plain text. And there are a lot of jobs for linux systems admins at colleges and universities which, if you're disabled, are good places to work.

Of course, I'm not entirely sure that your time wouldn't be better spent learning more about Windows systems administration. It could be that no matter how much you know about Windows, spending your time learning still more is better for your career than taking the time to learn linux. But I am employed today because I took the time to learn linux and I've never regretted doing that.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:46 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Hi John and Darragh,

Thanks for the information. I realise if I do want to get in to this, I'd really need to know alot about linux. I'm considering trying it out. But all the command stuff scares me, gosh, i'm too spoilt by windows perhaps.

However I'd just like to ask a few questions please? @darragh: How does one know whether a live cd will be accessible or not? Is there anything that one should look for?

@John, When you speak of remastering, Does this mean that I could add drivers perhaps for my sound card? add orca to the live cd? and any other dependents needed for orca to work? Also, when you say that live cd's are getting better, would this also mean that companies who make their own live cd's by removing information that is unnecessary to reduce space so that only their program works I.e. they remove drivers for audio as well as any unwanted program support since it may not be useful in what they want to achieve. are now starting to add accessibility?

Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3:47 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

Right, I suspect that was the intent of the original question. Many of

Zameer, I've worked with Distributions such as OpenSuSE, Debian, Red hat, Fedora, Ubuntu and of course Vinux and have tinkered with distributions such as Slackware, Mandriva, Gentoo and Knoppix. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. In my experience, it's best to look at the distribution from a non-accessibility related perspective first to figure out what it is exactly you want to accomplish. For example: OpenSuSE. YaST makes administration and configuration of the system very easy because almost everything can be done within one application. Debian: Packages are usually very stable and reliable. You won't get the most up to date software but it will be well tested. Fedora: This is a community driven distribution derived from the Red hat days when that distribution was also for home users. Fedora usually has bleeding edge applications and features. Ubuntu is Debian based. It usually tries to provide the latest and greatest applications. It's very reliable but it would have a shorter testing time compared to Debian before it releases updates. Vinux is now Ubuntu based again. It provides all of the functionality of Ubuntu but it has the added advantage of being customized to provide the best possible accessible experience. Gentoo is probably the most configurable and customizeable distribution out there. I love playing with it. You can compile the entire distribution from scratch from the boot loader to the kernel to the applications. You say what components are enabled and you leave everything else. It's lovely to work with but it takes time to get it running. Now accessibility: OpenSuSE have one person working full time on accessibility. Marco Scambrax is his name. He creates a screen reader that primarily outputs via Braille. This allows users with a supported Braille display complete a text based installation. The Live CD for OpenSuSE 11 and later can also be downloaded with Gnome as the main graphical environment and will now also speak the installation. A really nice feature of OpenSuSE is that the boot menu can even speak before the installation. This is incredibly useful. Especially when troubleshooting. YaST is still not perfect in terms of accessibility when using it in the graphical environment but they've made great progress in the past five years. If all else fails, using YaST with Orca in the console is adiquit for most work. debian supports Orca out of the box. There's a person who works closely with the Debian developers. I cant remember his name off the top of my head but look around and you'll find loads of information for installing and using Debian with Orca. Fedora use to be the distribution of choice for visually impaired users. I'm not sure what it's like any more. It's worth looking at www.speakupmodified.org or just downloading the live CD. I would be very surprised if there were issues with Orca running in it. I remember there were a vew versions a few years ago that caused issues with the audio system but I'm reasonably certain these are resolved at this stage. I would expect that this can be installed using the live CD by starting Orca or using the text based installer via the http:/www.speakupmodified.org website. Ubuntu is perfectly accessible. Look at http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more documentation on Orca and Ubuntu. You can start the Ubuntu live CD with speech by pressing f5, the number 3 then enter twice at the boot screen. Instructions detailing this process are scattered around the Internet. You could also look at the Linux section on www.lalrecording.com for an audio based introduction. Vinux will automatically come up talking. The installer is completely accessible and all screen reader and magnifications are preconfigured for you when the system is running. It is by far the best distribution for someone who just wants to learn about Linux and doesn't want to have to deal with accessibility however. It's very important to say that the best way of learning Linux is by fixing problems. With every problem you fix be it accessibility related or otherwise you'll learn a little more about how it all fits together. Don't be too afraid of chosing a distribution that isn't as accessible out of the box. You might find that it works out better for you in the long run. Then again, it can definitly be argued that it's very off putting when you start to work with a new system and you have to spend most of your time at the start getting it to work for you. Gentoo. well, I wouldn't suggest this for a new user but by using a live CD to get into a text console you'll be able to compile the Gentoo kernel with Speakup already installed so when you boot gentoo for the first time it will speak. I know this is a long Email. I'm sorry if it's too detailed. Regards Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie From: Jackie McBride To: Blind sysadmins list Date: 15/04/2011 01:30 Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Depends on what u wanna do, Greg. Vinux starts up talking by default & in x-windows. GRML does not start up talking by default, (though it can be made to) & starts up at the console. Slackware also does not come up talking by default & I believe starts in console mode if untampered with. Fedora can be made to talk w/some messin around. Adriane-knoppix also comes up talking & uses a very user-friendly text-driven menu to get newbys started. Klaus Knopper's wife is sight-impaired, so... The truth is that I think by default now Speakup is being built into the linux kernel, so it really may not matter as much. You'll probly have to do some tinkerin to get precisely what u want, which is, after all, 1 of the nice things about Linux. Vinux has a very newby-friendly community, so, for that reason alone, u may wish to start out w/that. It won't hurt u to learn x, though orca imo is still kinda clunky, & then move on quickly to the cli. I say orca's kinda clunky, but, in all fairness, they just don't have the people workin on it & I don't know how much commitment there is in the Linux dev community as a whole to accessibility. MS kinda has to cuz it's the law, but they do the bear minimum. HTH. On 4/14/11, Greg B. wrote: that's linux possible linux is the

live linux CDs are already accessible. GRML, ubuntu, and vinux are examples. I would tend to favor vinux since it is intended especially for blind users. Their web site is at vinuxproject.org.

Also, almost every distro supplies information on how to remaster their bootable CDs. GRML has a package specifically for that. I used to remaster the GRML boot CD to make it come up talking with my choice of hardware speech synth. That way, in an emergency, I didn't have to fuss with hotkeys. Plus I'd get speech earlier in the boot process. I haven't done it for a while because the existing bootable CDs are getting better and better.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Darragh OHeiligh" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's?

I have never heard of a way of doing this. It would be fantastic if it was possible though.

If it's just partitioning you need for an example you may be able to use gpartit on the Ubuntu live CD. In other words, depending on the problem your trying to tackle you may find that a distribution has an accessible too tha twill do the job from the live CD.

Regards

Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu

Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie

From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 13/04/2011 14:34 Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org

Hi guys,

for those of you who use linux, I have a question regarding integration of audio as well as speech in to existing live cds.

Assuming you know or heard of a program called parted magic, or perhaps any program that uses linux for getting a job done, be it an anti-virus or utility program,

Is it possible to have audio support so as to integrate orca?

If perhaps these things can't be done, forgive my ignorance, I've really not used linux ever!

Regards _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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_______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

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-- Blame the computer--why not? It can't defend itself & occasionally might even be the culprit Jackie McBride Jaws Scripting training materials: www.screenreaderscripting.com homePage: www.abletec.serverheaven.net _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

Hi, @Jacky, I'm from South Africa. @darragh, Thanks for the site, there are very useful recordings there, much appreciated! @John, I hope now that your boss does have confidence in you, and that you are able to get the best when it comes out. Again, thanks for all who replied, Really appreciated. Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 10:01 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Yeah, I spent months and months teaching myself linux systems administration. It wasn't easy, that's for sure. But I was getting "backwatered" in my old job. That's my term for the process of marginallizing a blind systems administrator by not giving them the juicy assignments. When a new technology comes out, the boss never lets the blind guy play with it. Someone else gets that assignment. Eventually, no matter how good you are, you are left dealing with all the old stuff. And that's not good for job security. I saw the handwriting on the wall and taught myself linux systems administration. I just went to a used computer store and bought a real cheap PC with no operating system on it. Then I sent away for Red Hat installation CDs. This was before the days of high speed home internet. Then I got to work. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 2:17 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Hi John, Thank you so much for your info about live cd's. and advice on reasons to learning about linux, it was really well elaborated and very motivating. My reasons for shying away from linux so-to-speak is: There's so much of information, I really don't know where to start. Then you hear of different distros, which one does one choose? and then the commandline stuff. Its not that I've totally never used a command line based application, I do know a fair amount, and I sometimes still write batch files but, in linux almost everything is commandline based, which can be quite dawnting. But like I said, you really gave some good advice and when I do find somewhere to start, I'll give it ago definitely, I've not pushed it away as being totally not for me. Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? The makers of live CDs try to make them include as many drivers as possible so that their CD will work for as many people as possible. With all the work that goes into making a live CD, they want to appeal to as large a group of users as possible. Yes, you could remaster a CD to include drivers for your hardware. But it probably won't be necessary unless you are running on absolutely brand new hardware. And it would not be easy for a beginner to remaster a CD. You would have to gain some familiarity with linux before trying that. But as I have said many times on this list, in my opinion, learning linux is a really good thing to do for your career. Its hardly a drawback at all being blind for a linux systems admin. Everything is done remotely and mostly at the command line. Almost all the configuration files are plain text. And there are a lot of jobs for linux systems admins at colleges and universities which, if you're disabled, are good places to work. Of course, I'm not entirely sure that your time wouldn't be better spent learning more about Windows systems administration. It could be that no matter how much you know about Windows, spending your time learning still more is better for your career than taking the time to learn linux. But I am employed today because I took the time to learn linux and I've never regretted doing that. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:46 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Hi John and Darragh, Thanks for the information. I realise if I do want to get in to this, I'd really need to know alot about linux. I'm considering trying it out. But all the command stuff scares me, gosh, i'm too spoilt by windows perhaps. However I'd just like to ask a few questions please? @darragh: How does one know whether a live cd will be accessible or not? Is there anything that one should look for? @John, When you speak of remastering, Does this mean that I could add drivers perhaps for my sound card? add orca to the live cd? and any other dependents needed for orca to work? Also, when you say that live cd's are getting better, would this also mean that companies who make their own live cd's by removing information that is unnecessary to reduce space so that only their program works I.e. they remove drivers for audio as well as any unwanted program support since it may not be useful in what they want to achieve. are now starting to add accessibility? Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3:47 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Right, I suspect that was the intent of the original question. Many of the live linux CDs are already accessible. GRML, ubuntu, and vinux are examples. I would tend to favor vinux since it is intended especially for blind users. Their web site is at vinuxproject.org. Also, almost every distro supplies information on how to remaster their bootable CDs. GRML has a package specifically for that. I used to remaster the GRML boot CD to make it come up talking with my choice of hardware speech synth. That way, in an emergency, I didn't have to fuss with hotkeys. Plus I'd get speech earlier in the boot process. I haven't done it for a while because the existing bootable CDs are getting better and better. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darragh OHeiligh" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? I have never heard of a way of doing this. It would be fantastic if it was possible though. If it's just partitioning you need for an example you may be able to use gpartit on the Ubuntu live CD. In other words, depending on the problem your trying to tackle you may find that a distribution has an accessible too tha twill do the job from the live CD. Regards Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 13/04/2011 14:34 Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Hi guys, for those of you who use linux, I have a question regarding integration of audio as well as speech in to existing live cds. Assuming you know or heard of a program called parted magic, or perhaps any program that uses linux for getting a job done, be it an anti-virus or utility program, Is it possible to have audio support so as to integrate orca? If perhaps these things can't be done, forgive my ignorance, I've really not used linux ever! Regards _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

May I also suggest you take a look at the linux section on www.lalrecordings.com Regards Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 14/04/2011 20:17 Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Hi John, Thank you so much for your info about live cd's. and advice on reasons to learning about linux, it was really well elaborated and very motivating. My reasons for shying away from linux so-to-speak is: There's so much of information, I really don't know where to start. Then you hear of different distros, which one does one choose? and then the commandline stuff. Its not that I've totally never used a command line based application, I do know a fair amount, and I sometimes still write batch files but, in linux almost everything is commandline based, which can be quite dawnting. But like I said, you really gave some good advice and when I do find somewhere to start, I'll give it ago definitely, I've not pushed it away as being totally not for me. Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2011 4:27 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? The makers of live CDs try to make them include as many drivers as possible so that their CD will work for as many people as possible. With all the work that goes into making a live CD, they want to appeal to as large a group of users as possible. Yes, you could remaster a CD to include drivers for your hardware. But it probably won't be necessary unless you are running on absolutely brand new hardware. And it would not be easy for a beginner to remaster a CD. You would have to gain some familiarity with linux before trying that. But as I have said many times on this list, in my opinion, learning linux is a really good thing to do for your career. Its hardly a drawback at all being blind for a linux systems admin. Everything is done remotely and mostly at the command line. Almost all the configuration files are plain text. And there are a lot of jobs for linux systems admins at colleges and universities which, if you're disabled, are good places to work. Of course, I'm not entirely sure that your time wouldn't be better spent learning more about Windows systems administration. It could be that no matter how much you know about Windows, spending your time learning still more is better for your career than taking the time to learn linux. But I am employed today because I took the time to learn linux and I've never regretted doing that. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 9:46 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Hi John and Darragh, Thanks for the information. I realise if I do want to get in to this, I'd really need to know alot about linux. I'm considering trying it out. But all the command stuff scares me, gosh, i'm too spoilt by windows perhaps. However I'd just like to ask a few questions please? @darragh: How does one know whether a live cd will be accessible or not? Is there anything that one should look for? @John, When you speak of remastering, Does this mean that I could add drivers perhaps for my sound card? add orca to the live cd? and any other dependents needed for orca to work? Also, when you say that live cd's are getting better, would this also mean that companies who make their own live cd's by removing information that is unnecessary to reduce space so that only their program works I.e. they remove drivers for audio as well as any unwanted program support since it may not be useful in what they want to achieve. are now starting to add accessibility? Regards, ----- Original Message ----- From: "John G. Heim" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 3:47 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Right, I suspect that was the intent of the original question. Many of the live linux CDs are already accessible. GRML, ubuntu, and vinux are examples. I would tend to favor vinux since it is intended especially for blind users. Their web site is at vinuxproject.org. Also, almost every distro supplies information on how to remaster their bootable CDs. GRML has a package specifically for that. I used to remaster the GRML boot CD to make it come up talking with my choice of hardware speech synth. That way, in an emergency, I didn't have to fuss with hotkeys. Plus I'd get speech earlier in the boot process. I haven't done it for a while because the existing bootable CDs are getting better and better. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Darragh OHeiligh" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Cc: Sent: Wednesday, April 13, 2011 8:38 AM Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? I have never heard of a way of doing this. It would be fantastic if it was possible though. If it's just partitioning you need for an example you may be able to use gpartit on the Ubuntu live CD. In other words, depending on the problem your trying to tackle you may find that a distribution has an accessible too tha twill do the job from the live CD. Regards Darragh Ó Héiligh Fujitsu Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas, Fredrick Building, South Fredrick Street, Dublin2 Telephone: +353 (1) 618 3559 Email: darragh.oheiligh@oireachtas.ie Internet: http://www.oireachtas.ie From: "Zameer Mahomed" To: "Blind sysadmins list" Date: 13/04/2011 14:34 Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] orca with custom live cd's? Sent by: blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org Hi guys, for those of you who use linux, I have a question regarding integration of audio as well as speech in to existing live cds. Assuming you know or heard of a program called parted magic, or perhaps any program that uses linux for getting a job done, be it an anti-virus or utility program, Is it possible to have audio support so as to integrate orca? If perhaps these things can't be done, forgive my ignorance, I've really not used linux ever! Regards _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins@lists.hodgsonfamily.org http://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins