Hi Janina,
Your knowledge and expertise has got me interested,
What about ubuntu these days?
-----Original Message-----
From: 'Janina Sajka' via MacVisionaries
<macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, 27 March 2020 6:55 PM
To: 'Andrew Lamanche' via MacVisionaries
<macvisionaries@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: OT: anybody on the list using Linux in VMWare or on a
separate machine? Pls answer off list
OK, Andrew, I understand your situation. I'll give you my advice. But, as
you've undoubtedly already learned, advice is cheap and various people will be
passionate about their views.
So, let me give you a first things first approach as my top suggestion.
Keep it simple, and keep the main thing the main thing. Linux is a "some
assembly" required kind of environment. If you break it, you get to keep both pieces.
So, forget vmware or any other virtualization. Not because they're unworthy,
they're perfect for their task, but they're complicating factors that will only
frustrate you. After you have experience and some knowledge, you can always go
back there. But learning linux management under some vm isn't the next thing,
it's getting a unfctioning linux in the first place. I can't stress this point
enough.
That seems to leave us with a 13 year old laptop. Forget about running Orca or
any graphical Linux desktop on 13 year old hardware. It ain't happening--not
with your level of Linux skills (no offense intended).
Could I, with my decades of Linux experience get an accessible desktop working
on that machine? Maybe, but not very likely. So, a word to the wise, and all
that.
You can expect to run the text console environment, though, and that's where
the real power and attractiveness of Linux resides, actually. Yes, Orca is cool
and leads in some compelling feature developments. But, Mac and Windows are far
more accessible, imo.
So, if you're uninterested in learning bash (or zsh) console based computing,
you probably want another project.
However, if you're still on board, take heart. You have options, and you should
be able to make Linux talk and drive your braille display with multiple console
instances on each boot that you can readily switch among.
Now, getting an installation becomes the problem. At this point I again remind
you to keep it simple. Forget wifi. You configure that once the machine is
booting reliably, not as a condition of installation. Plan to connect an
ethernet cable where you can avoid driver issues. The main thing, remember?
Forget Fedora. It's a powerful Linux distribution and it powers my Linux vps.
I'm sending you this email via my Fedora server in the cloud. But the
installation isn't accessible, so forget it. It just came off your list--and
never mind that someone on some list said they figured out how to install
Fedora with Orca. That ain't you. We're keeping it simple and keeping the main
thing the main thing, right?
Fedora is wonderful to use, but you can't use it if you can't install it in our
current scenario, so you're going to forget it--at least for now.
Debian is good. It has a cadre of true believers that wouldn't have anything
else. Only criticism with Debian is that it's arguably too conversative, i.e.
what you get tends to be older, more user tested versions of kernels and
applications. I do believe it's installation remains quite accessible, though I
don't know the particulars. I'd google for that info, and also see my
additional resources item below.
Arch is what I run on my personal machines. There's an accessible Arch
installer here:
https://tarch.org/
Note there's a fundamental philosophical distinction between Linux distros like Fedora
and Debian which "snapshot" into releases from time to time on the one hand,
and distros like Arch which never have releases but rather practice rolling updates day
by day and hour by hour on the other hand.
You can also forget vinux and sonar. As you've discovered, they're dead.
There are newer replacements both actively maintained and in process of
development with varying stages of maturity. I have no direct experience, so I
won't say anything more than to note that the community continues to spin up
distributions of Linux aimed at making the process easier for newbies. Years
ago, I was personally involved in such a project myself.
Lastly, you need to be on the lists with people who focus on Linux as blind
users. Chief of these is the blinux list:
https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list
Note you can find additional resources on the Tarch page noted above.
Remember, you're offering up 13-year old hardware for your Linux, so your goal
is console only. In that environment you'll have Speakup and/or Fenrir for
screen readers, and brltty for your braille display.
Those will be your main choices whether you go Debian, Arch, or something else.
And, you'll be using these either on bash or zsh sells.
Or, you may decide to learn emacs and emacspeak--but that's yet another kettle
of fish that comes well after getting a function, accessible system working.
Good luck!
Best,
Janina
'Andrew Lamanche' via MacVisionaries writes:
Hello,
A few years ago I had a go at trying to learn Linux but I failed and gave it
up. I never quite parted with the idea of ever returning to it. So firstly I’d
like to find out what distro I could most reliably install in VMWare Fusion or
on an old Del laptop from 2007 I think, and whether I could accomplish it
without sighted help. I’ve been doing a lot of research on it over the last
few days given I have lost my work due to coronavirus and am having to stay at
home. When researching the accessibility of Linux, some say Fedora is better,
others recommend Vinux or Sonar but both Vinux and Sonar have folded and have
not been updated although some pages are still on the web. Debian is supposed
to be accessible and I tried the last distro but while I was able to start the
installation after having burnt the .iso to cd with sighted help, the
installation failed because I was unable to connect it to my wifi: Linux wasn’t
finding the name of my wifi at home - something wrong maybe with drivers ,
goodness knows. Debian is supposed to have Orca and Braille support. So yes,
if I could successfully install and run a Linux distro with orca and Braille,
I’d like to have a go at learning Linux. It’s a tantalizing prospect given
linux reputation for stability and safety. But I’m rather inexperienced in
terminal or command line so maybe I will fail again. Still, nothing ventured,
nothing gained. So if I could find out a bit on which distro might be best for
me, and perhaps some contacts off the list to ask question, or even if a
proficient linux user who’s blind has the time and would be willing at some
point to give paid tutorials on Linux, I’d certainly feel more secure in this
venture. Linux requires a whole new vocabulary whose terms I’m trying to
understand.
Andrew
On 26 Mar 2020, at 06:33, 'Janina Sajka' via MacVisionaries
<macvisionaries@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Several of us on this list are long time Linux users. What are you
looking for?
'Andrew Lamanche' via MacVisionaries writes:
Hi,
Does anybody on the list use Linux successfully either in virtual environment
or on a separate computer? Please email off list if you wouldn’t mind sharing
your experiences.
Andrew
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Chair, Accessible Platform Architectures http://www.w3.org/wai/apa
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