RE: Ubuntu and a screen reader
If you are looking for an accessible version of Ubuntu that has a built in screen reader and magnifier and can be installed and run out of the box without vision, check out the Vinux Project at: http://www.vinuxproject.org/ We did several epdisodes of our radio show / podcast, Eyes On Success, about Vinux. Go to: www.EyesOnSuccess.net and enter "Vinux" into the Search field to get a list of all episodes which featured Vinux, along with links to the audio, show notes, and a brief description. You might also like to subscribe to the Eyes On Success podcast by using the text: www.EyesOnSuccess.net/eos_podcast in your favorite podcatching program. The show features a wide variety of topics of interest to the visually impaired. To receive weekly announcements of upcoming shows, join the listener forum by sending an e-mail to: eyesonsuccess+subscr...@googlegroups.com Enjoy! --Pete Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 01:29:04 +0100 From: tapper To: ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com Subject: Ubuntu and a screenreader Message-ID: <526080d0.5090...@ntlworld.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed hi what's going on with the new Ubuntu: can i as a blind computer user install it with speech. are you going to update the wiki or even do a blog post about it. i will be very happy if you can get back to me and let me no as win 8 is a pile! thanks Tapper -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Podcast on Vinux 4.0 - an interview with Rob Whyte
Listen to an interview with Rob Whyte about the new Vinux release on Eyes On Success, a half hour weekly radio show / podcast which covers a wide variety of topics of interest to the visually impaired. Below are links to the show and associated show notes as well as links to the web page where you can learn more about Eyes On Success, subscribe to the podcast, and join our listener forum. 1322 Vinux 4.0 (May 29, 2013) <http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/eos_1322_podcast.mp3> Show Notes <http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/show_notes_1322.htm> Vinux is a version of the Linux operating system that has been optimized for the needs of blind and low vision users. Vinux provides two screen-readers, screen magnification, many other features and support for USB Braille displays. Join hosts Nancy and Peter Torpey as they speak with Rob Whyte of the Vinux project about what's new in their latest release, Vinux 4.0 . FYI we also did an episode a while back which featured the original developers of Vinux. Below are the links and a brief description for that episode: 1136 9-7-2011 Vinux - accessible operating system <http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/eos_1136_podcast.mp3> Show Notes <http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/show_notes_1136.htm> Hosts Peter Torpey and Nancy Goodman Torpey devote this entire show to Vinux, a fully accessible and easy to use computer operating system. Besides describing how it works, they interview two of its creators and explain how you can get involved in follow-on improvements, updates and upgrades. Check out Eyes On Success (formerly ViewPoints) A weekly, half hour audio program for people living with low vision Find out more about the show and get links to the podcasts at: <http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/> www.EyesOnSuccess.net Like us on Facebook at: <http://www.facebook.com/EyesOnSuccess> www.facebook.com/EyesOnSuccess Follow us on Twitter at: <http://www.twitter.com/@_EyesOnSuccess> www.twitter.com/@_EyesOnSuccess Subscribe to the listener forum by sending an e-mail to: <mailto:eyesonsuccess+subscr...@googlegroups.com> eyesonsuccess+subscr...@googlegroups.com Send suggestions or comments to: <mailto:ho...@eyesonsuccess.net> ho...@eyesonsuccess.net -- Subscribe to the podcast by pasting the following URL into your podcatching program: www.EyesOnSuccess.net/EOS_podcast --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "EyesOnSuccess" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to eyesonsuccess+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
setting up UBUNTU OS and screen reader
You should try Vinux - This is a specially designed version of Ubuntu that works out of the box with a screen reader and has tools and setup that are optimized by use for the blind. To find Vinux, go to: http://vinuxproject.org/ You might also want to listen to a podcast from the "Eyes On Success" radio show / podcast (formerly ViewPoints) in which we interviewed the developers of Vinux: ViewPoints ViewPoints 1136 9-7-2011 Vinux - accessible operating system <http://eyesonsuccess.net/bin/DLC.php?get=vp%201136%20podcast.mp3> Show Notes <http://eyesonsuccess.net/show%20notes/show%20notes%201136.htm> Hosts Peter Torpey and Nancy Goodman Torpey devote this entire show to Vinux, a fully accessible and easy to use computer operating system. Besides describing how it works, they interview two of its creators and explain how you can get involved in follow-on improvements, updates and upgrades. Hope that helps. --Pete Check out Eyes On Success (formerly ViewPoints) A weekly, half hour audio program for people living with low vision Find out more about the show and get links to the podcasts at: www.EyesOnSuccess.net <http://www.eyesonsuccess.net/> Like us on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/EyesOnSuccess Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/@_EyesOnSuccess Subscribe to the listener forum by sending an e-mail to: eyesonsuccess+subscr...@googlegroups.com Send suggestions or comments to: ho...@eyesonsuccess.net From: "Kerry d" To: Subject: setting up UBUNTU OS and screen reader Message-ID: <001301cdf9d8$8c0655d0$a4130170$@net> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Hello, I have recently purchased an HP lap top with windows XP. The screen reader is JAWS. I am interested in learning to use UBUNTU and a screen reader like ORCA or the best you can recommend. I guess I need some type of vm ware to accomplish this Your assistance is appreciated.Kerry D -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-accessibility/attachments/20130123 /05704f7e/attachment-0001.html> -- -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility End of Ubuntu-accessibility Digest, Vol 86, Issue 16 -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Vinux featured on ViewPoints
I thought some folks on this list might be interested to know that the Vinux project was recently featured on the ViewPoints radio show / podcast. ViewPoints is a weekly, half hour show that focuses on a wide range of topics of interest to people with low vision. Previous topics have included free screen readers, advanced features of JAWS, music performance and production, tips on vacationing and exercising, etc. You can learn more about ViewPoints as well as find links to the podcast, archived show and show notes, and more at the URL: www.ViewPointsPlus.net The episode which features Vinux is show #1136: ViewPoints 1136 9-7-2011 Vinux - accessible operating system Show Notes Hosts Peter Torpey and Nancy Goodman Torpey devote this entire show to Vinux, a fully accessible and easy to use computer operating system. Besides describing how it works, they interview two of its creators and explain how you can get involved in follow-on improvements, updates and upgrades. Enjoy! --Pete Check out ViewPoints A weekly, half hour radio program for people living with low vision Find out more about the show and links to the podcasts at: www.ViewPointsPlus.net Send suggestions or comments to: cont...@viewpointsplus.net -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
RE: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible
This isn't a bash against Linux - In fact, I think Linux has come a long, long way in terms of accessibility over the years. My point is that some issues are relatively easy to deal with in terms of improving accessibility. With a little bit of thought and/or consideration, accessibility for many apps could be improved. I also believe that saying "well, others can't do this either", is a losing proposition because eventually someone will break out of the pack, be an innovator, and leave the rest behind. --Pete -Original Message- From: hank smith [mailto:hanksmi...@gmail.com] Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 6:18 PM To: ptorpe...@gmail.com; 'Bill Cox'; orca-l...@gnome.org; 'ubuntu' Subject: Re: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible o what distro can do the things you mentioned currently? ----- Original Message - From: "Peter Torpey" To: "'Bill Cox'" ; ; "'ubuntu'" Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 8:31 AM Subject: Re: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible > It seems to me one of the big frustrations with Ubuntu is that these > important tasks are not easily accessible for the blind user. > > It should be an easy and straightforward task for a blind person to at > least > install the OS without having to search around for documentation and hints > on what magic sequence of keys to hit before anything starts talking at > all. > After all, if one can't even install the OS, the rest of the questions are > irrelevant! > > Also, installing/updating packages is a key task that one needs to keep on > top of since fixes and upgrades are constantly coming down the pipe. > Again, > if the blind user can't easily perform these common tasks, this is just > one > more hurdle that will prevent them from using the system and errors will > occur if one has to make modifications by hand in order to perform these > tasks. > > In summary, this system would be a lot more friendly to blind users if: > 1. The install CD came up talking immediately without the user having to > guess at where they are or what key sequences need to be pressed to get > things going, and, > 2. The updating of packages should be as straightforward for the blind > user > as it is for the sighted user. One shouldn't need additional > modifications > to perform these key tasks that require Su permissions. > > --Pete > > > -Original Message- > From: orca-list-boun...@gnome.org [mailto:orca-list-boun...@gnome.org] On > Behalf Of Bill Cox > Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 9:17 AM > To: orca-l...@gnome.org; ubuntu > Subject: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible > > Since Karmic, Ubuntu has not had a decent accessible software > installer. Since Ubuntu has gone with a new "Ubuntu Software Center", > it may make sense to work on making that accessible. Is this already > in the works? Is that the right place to put effort, or should we > have blind users install the old gnome-app-installer? > > Bill > ___ > Orca-list mailing list > orca-l...@gnome.org > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list > Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca. > The manual is at > http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html > The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions > Netiquette Guidelines are at > http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines > Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2693 - Release Date: 02/18/10 > 02:34:00 > > ___ > Orca-list mailing list > orca-l...@gnome.org > http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list > Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca. > The manual is at > http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html > The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions > Netiquette Guidelines are at > http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines > Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2695 - Release Date: 02/18/10 02:34:00 -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
RE: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible
It seems to me one of the big frustrations with Ubuntu is that these important tasks are not easily accessible for the blind user. It should be an easy and straightforward task for a blind person to at least install the OS without having to search around for documentation and hints on what magic sequence of keys to hit before anything starts talking at all. After all, if one can't even install the OS, the rest of the questions are irrelevant! Also, installing/updating packages is a key task that one needs to keep on top of since fixes and upgrades are constantly coming down the pipe. Again, if the blind user can't easily perform these common tasks, this is just one more hurdle that will prevent them from using the system and errors will occur if one has to make modifications by hand in order to perform these tasks. In summary, this system would be a lot more friendly to blind users if: 1. The install CD came up talking immediately without the user having to guess at where they are or what key sequences need to be pressed to get things going, and, 2. The updating of packages should be as straightforward for the blind user as it is for the sighted user. One shouldn't need additional modifications to perform these key tasks that require Su permissions. --Pete -Original Message- From: orca-list-boun...@gnome.org [mailto:orca-list-boun...@gnome.org] On Behalf Of Bill Cox Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 9:17 AM To: orca-l...@gnome.org; ubuntu Subject: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible Since Karmic, Ubuntu has not had a decent accessible software installer. Since Ubuntu has gone with a new "Ubuntu Software Center", it may make sense to work on making that accessible. Is this already in the works? Is that the right place to put effort, or should we have blind users install the old gnome-app-installer? Bill ___ Orca-list mailing list orca-l...@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca. The manual is at http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions Netiquette Guidelines are at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2693 - Release Date: 02/18/10 02:34:00 -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
RE: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible
It seems to me one of the big frustrations with Ubuntu is that these important tasks are not easily accessible for the blind user. It should be an easy and straightforward task for a blind person to at least install the OS without having to search around for documentation and hints on what magic sequence of keys to hit before anything starts talking at all. After all, if one can't even install the OS, the rest of the questions are irrelevant! Also, installing/updating packages is a key task that one needs to keep on top of since fixes and upgrades are constantly coming down the pipe. Again, if the blind user can't easily perform these common tasks, this is just one more hurdle that will prevent them from using the system and errors will occur if one has to make modifications by hand in order to perform these tasks. In summary, this system would be a lot more friendly to blind users if: 1. The install CD came up talking immediately without the user having to guess at where they are or what key sequences need to be pressed to get things going, and, 2. The updating of packages should be as straightforward for the blind user as it is for the sighted user. One shouldn't need additional modifications to perform these key tasks that require Su permissions. --Pete -Original Message- From: orca-list-boun...@gnome.org [mailto:orca-list-boun...@gnome.org] On Behalf Of Bill Cox Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 9:17 AM To: orca-l...@gnome.org; ubuntu Subject: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible Since Karmic, Ubuntu has not had a decent accessible software installer. Since Ubuntu has gone with a new "Ubuntu Software Center", it may make sense to work on making that accessible. Is this already in the works? Is that the right place to put effort, or should we have blind users install the old gnome-app-installer? Bill ___ Orca-list mailing list orca-l...@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca. The manual is at http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions Netiquette Guidelines are at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2693 - Release Date: 02/18/10 02:34:00 -Original Message- From: orca-list-boun...@gnome.org [mailto:orca-list-boun...@gnome.org] On Behalf Of Bill Cox Sent: Thursday, February 18, 2010 9:17 AM To: orca-l...@gnome.org; ubuntu Subject: [orca-list] Making Ubuntu Software Center accessible Since Karmic, Ubuntu has not had a decent accessible software installer. Since Ubuntu has gone with a new "Ubuntu Software Center", it may make sense to work on making that accessible. Is this already in the works? Is that the right place to put effort, or should we have blind users install the old gnome-app-installer? Bill ___ Orca-list mailing list orca-l...@gnome.org http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/orca-list Visit http://live.gnome.org/Orca for more information on Orca. The manual is at http://library.gnome.org/users/gnome-access-guide/nightly/ats-2.html The FAQ is at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions Netiquette Guidelines are at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/FrequentlyAskedQuestions/NetiquetteGuidelines Log bugs and feature requests at http://bugzilla.gnome.org No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.733 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/2693 - Release Date: 02/18/10 02:34:00 -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Re: A new user with some ubuntu questions.
Sandy, If you are a new Linux user, you might want to try the Vinux distribution of Linux. This was specifically put together with accessibility concerns in mind. Although Ubuntu can be used with speech and a magnifier, performance with speech seems to be somewhat erratic and unreliable. Also, with Ubuntu , it is a bit tricky to access the administrative applications and more customizations might be needed to make it work the way you would like. Vinux should be much more robust with speech and includes applications which work well with speech without a lot of customization by the user. You can find out more about the Binux project and download the installer at the URL: http://vinux.org.uk Good luck. --Pete From: "Sandy Phillips" Subject: A new user with some ubuntu questions. To: Message-ID: <887928aace9d4515a11d51eb14a3c...@johnnieq3yjn8u> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; reply-type=original Hello, My name is Sandy Phillips and I live in Louisville Ky. I will soon be trying to learn ubuntu. My brother is putting ubuntu 9.10 on a computer along with windows 7 so I can learn about ubuntu. I am interested in learning the linux programs for a number of reasons. I have been using windows operating systems with jaws for windows. Which ubuntu edition 9.04 or 9.10 has the least amount of problems? As I said my brother is loading 9.10 but if there are more known issues with this particular version then I can go to 9.04 or any other version people could recommend. Currently I have no working knowledge of the linux operating system but I am more than willing to learn. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Blessings, Sandy Phillips smilingsa...@insightbb.com -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Getting Login Prompt to Speak
Hi, I am using Ubuntu 9.04 and Orca. Currently when I boot the computer, braille shows "screen not in text mode" and there is no speech prompt to tell me when to log in. Is there any way of making Ubuntu speak the login prompt or having Orca start immediately after boot? I know that the "bongo" souond should let me know when it's okay to login in. However, I have a problem with this. I am using multiple USB audio devices on my PC. I have Orca speaking out of sound car A, but the bongos sound comes out of sound card B (which I don't usually have turned on). Is there some way of forcing the bongo sound to come out of sound card A? Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
No speech with Orca after trying to install USB Wi-Fi device
I am running Ubuntu 9.04 with Orca and brltty. Everything was running fine until I tried to see if I could get a NetGear WG111 USB Wi-Fi device to work. I got into the Hardware settings and, after the program searched around for a bit, it said it couldn't find a driver. Of course, this screen came up with no speech (since it needed administrative privledges and I guess Orca doesn't work under that circumstance). I had some sighted help there, so I don't quite know the exact error I received. Anyway, I never did get the WG111 USB Wi-Fi device to work, but now, even without the device plugged into the USB port and several reboots later, I am not getting any speech out of Orca. Thankfully, braille is still working fine so I can navigate somewhat. To fix the problem, I got into the Gnome-Alsa settings program. It looked like, somehow, all of my volume settings had been set to 0% and mute had been checked for all of my audio output devices. I fixed this, but I'm still not getting any speech. What could have gone wrong here just trying to install the USB Wi-Fi device? Why did that crash Orca speech and how can I fix this? On a side note, how do I get a USB Wi-Fi device to work with Ubuntu? Do I need to use the diswrapper program and will that work? Thanks for any help or suggestions. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Re: Voxin voices work great, espeak not so much in Ubuntu 9.04
From: Bill Cox Subject: Voxin voices work great, espeak not so much in Ubuntu 9.04 [PT] I found that the Viavox synthesizer did not work well with gnome-speech and pulse audio. The problem I had was when a large amount of output was printed to the terminal in gnome-terminal, I could not get Voxin to shut up. Sometimes it would continue for several minutes despite any key press. After talking to the folks at Oralux, I finally removed pulseaudio, connected all of my sounds through alsa, and ran Voxin with speech-dispatcher. Now I can immediately stop the speaking of Voxin whenever I want without any problem. Thus, I wouldn't recommend using Voxin with gnome-speech, but rather would use speech-dispatcher. But, speech-dispatcher may interfere with pulseaudio, so I removed that. --Petex64 To: ubuntu , vinux-developm...@googlegroups.com Message-ID: <499d69a00907081019t544c12b5q9d0e7f58e5011...@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I'm running the latest code for atk, at-spi, orca, and compiz. I also have upgraded from the proposed repository. I have found that the old IBM Viavoice speech engine works great with pulseaudio and Gnome Speech Services, when using the IBM Viavoice GNOME Speech Driver. However, the espeak driver still gets cut off and choppy, and is basically unusable. I would recommend to anyone out there who prefers Viavoice over espeak to just install it, and don't bother removing pulseaudio or installing speech-dispatcher to get espeak working. -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Re: Ubuntu 9.04 Accessibility
I installed the Voxin speech synthesizer. Although this worked fairly nicely with the default install of Ubuntu 9.04, there was no way to stop the Voxin synthesizer from speaking when large amounts of info were displayed to the screen in a gnome-terminal session. Apparently there was some strange interaction between the gnome-speech system and the Voxin synthesizer. Sometimes it would go on talking for several minutes and would not let the user type anything into the terminal or switch to another application. To fix this, I had to remove pulseaudio and configure speech-dispatcher (which was a bit tricky since I have several audio devices). Also, even speech-dispatcher wouldn't work with the default setup. Working with the people at Oralux (who provide Voxin), they figured out that the problem could be solved by putting a 15 second delay into the /etc/speech-dispatcher/speech.conf file so that speech-dispatcher didn't load immediately upon login. I don't know why this made a difference, but it turned out to be the key to getting speech-dispatcher with Voxin to work. So, although great strides have been made in Linux accessibility over the years, this certainly isn't a turnkey process yet and there is a way to go. --Pete From: Bill Cox Subject: Re: ubuntu 9.04 accessibility To: Guy Schlosser Cc: ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com Message-ID: <499d69a00907060340x61a092a1v9fb7d411d52f4...@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I also have managed to get a fairly stable version of Ubuntu 9.04 x64, but I followed a different route. I didn't have to un-install or stop using any major package, including pulseaudio, compiz, and Gnome Speech Services. I don't need speech-dispatcher. Basically, I updated to the bleeding-edge version of several packages, as described at http://live.gnome.org/Orca/UbuntuJaunty#preview However, I do not recommend blind/VI users follow this bleeding-edge approach. Your approach has less risk. It's nice to see, though, that better accessibility is coming down the pipe. Bill -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Re: gksu and policykit
[PT] Agreed. This is a big issue and I also hope some work is being done to address this. -- PeteFrom: Paul Hunt Subject: gksu and policykit To: ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com Message-ID: <4a4ca726.1070...@ukonline.co.uk> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Hello, I'm wondering if the long standing issue of not being able to run administrative applications that use gksu to obtain the user's password before they run with Orca will be fixed in the next version of Ubuntu. While the gksu dialogue is accessible, speech cuts out immediately after pressing return or pressing the Okay button and cannot be resumed until the user kills the gksu process from a text console at which point the administrative application is accessible. I know that some of the admin apps in Ubuntu have been shifted over to using PolicyKit for user authentication but that the apps themselves need to be rewritten for this to work. Apparently there is work being done on a new version of gksu that uses PolicyKit as its backend rather than su or sudo. I'm wondering if this will be included in the next version of Ubuntu. this bug was filed back in the days of Ubuntu Feisty but some work seems to have been done on it early this year which seems to indicate that using gksu-polkit and Orca can be made to work. the bug url is; http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=449159 I hope something can be done to solve this long standing problem soon. In my opinion its the biggest problem blind users are currently facing with Ubuntu. Paul -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Solution to No Sound from Second Sound Card
Whew - I finally figured out why I wasn't getting any sound out of my second sound card. Somehow the volume must have gotten muted (or put down to 1%). Trying to fix the volume using Orca was certainly a challenge. Unless I missed something and there is an easier way of changing the sound, I finally found the asoundconf command. I ran this from the terminal, but a strange graphical interface popped up that was totally unusable with Orca. Even the flat review mode was not able to give useful information. Next, I tried the command amixer. This is a command line utility for changing the settings of various sound devices. If it's helpful to anyone else, some of the commands which seemed to help were: # a command to list the controls of sound device 1 amixer -c 1 controls # a command to show the settings for each control of device 1 amixer -c 1 contents # finally, a command to change the volume to 100% on device 1 Amixer -c 1 set PCM 100% I would have thought that something as ubiquitous as changing volume should be easier to do. Also, in the process of working this out, I removed pulseaudio. Should Orca be running with pulseaudio or not for best results? The pulseaudio volume settings are also difficult (if not impossible) to use with Orca. Well, at least I can hear Orca out of the correct sound device now. Maybe this will be useful to someone else. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Changing Volume
This may be a dumb question, but how do you change the volume of a sound device using the keyboard or terminal or something? I can't get sound to come out of one of my sound devices - Maybe it's the volume setting (which I can't find). Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Re: I'm having trouble getting a USB sound card to work
Yes. Just after posting my last note, I noticed this post of yours. This was working when I first installed Jaunty, then I must have changed some settings. There are many choices in the various Sounds settings with which I am not familiar. For example, I have many entries for halxxx, along with alsscr, osscr, etc and pulseaudio (even after I removed pulseaudio). I am very confused and don't know where all these drivers get initialized so can't even edit things by hand. I'm thinking of re-installing Ubuntu from scratch since I can't seem to figure out how to get things back to normal. Is Karmic stable enough to play with if you require a screen reader? Is it worth trying that with Orca and braille support? --Pete From: "mike" Subject: I'm having trouble getting a USB sound card to work To: "ubuntu" Message-ID: <0kle009g3m6z8...@vms173011.mailsrvcs.net> Hi, I got a USB soundcard today and ubuntu shows it in the list. But when I switch to it the sound still comes out of my other soundcard. Have any of you had this problem in karmic? Mike. -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Problem Getting Sounds and speech Out of Second Sound Device
I have two USB sound devices: - EMU 0202 USB o - SB-Live 24-bit External USB When I first installed Ubuntu 9.04 all sounds and speech came out of the EMU 0202. In the Preferences / Default Sound Device menu I then selected the SB-Live device as the default sound device so that all sounds would come out of this sound device. That worked fine, except for the bongo sound prior to login still came out of the EMU 0202 device (even though all speech and sounds now came out of the SB-Live device as I wanted them to). Anyway, I followed the directions for installing the latest update of PulseAudio and then couldn't get any sounds coming out of the Sb-Live device. I uninstalled PulseAudio and used all of the Alsa settings for default as my Playback device. How do I re-hook up the SB-Live USB device and get sound out of that again? I've tried re-installing PulseAudio and tried using PulseAudio as all of the defaults, but to no avail. Somehow the SB-Live driver or device seems to be gone (even though I can check it as default in many of the Sound and Default Sound Device menus). Thanks for any suggestions. Do I have to re-install Ubuntu? --Pete No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.77/2184 - Release Date: 06/17/09 17:55:00 -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Re: karmic problem is fixed but here is another one
Same problem here with Ubuntu 9.04. Also, Control+Alt+Delete doesn't seem to perform a reboot (when I get into trouble) as I thought it should. --Pete From: "mike" Subject: karmic problem is fixed but here is another one To: "ubuntu" Message-ID: <0klb000xba110...@vms173001.mailsrvcs.net> Hi, After getting updates today I found my problem with getting a error sound at login has been fixed. But I also noticed something else. Control alt backspace no longer allows you to force quit gnome. I do have dontzap installed and configured, but it no longer works. Has the force quit feature been completely eliminated from gnome? I do see a keyboard shortcut for logging out, but not to force quit gnome. Mike. -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
RE: Re: does anyone know of a small live cd with software speech
Mike, You might also want to try LinuxSpeaks at: http://www.joekamphaus.net/live.html n Pete From: Peter Torpey [mailto:ptor...@rochester.rr.com] Sent: Sunday, June 14, 2009 9:33 AM To: 'ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com' Cc: 'kb8...@verizon.net' Subject: Re: does anyone know of a small live cd with software speech Mike, H How about the Vinux CD? This should have all the accessibility stuff on it you need. It is build from Ubuntu specifically for people using screen readers and/or magnifiers. -- Pete 13 Jun 2009 09:23:23 -0500 (CDT) From: "mike" Subject: does anyone know of a small live cd with software speech To: "ubuntu" Message-ID: <0kl600esllayk...@vms173005.mailsrvcs.net> Hi, I am in need of a small rescue live CD that would have software speech. Grml is perfect, but they don't include the option for software speech on their median or small CD. There is a Ubuntu rescue CD, but it has no software speech on it. Do any of you know of any distro experimental or normal that has software speech using speakup or yasr on it? Thanks Mike. -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Re: does anyone know of a small live cd with software speech
Mike, H How about the Vinux CD? This should have all the accessibility stuff on it you need. It is build from Ubuntu specifically for people using screen readers and/or magnifiers. -- Pete 13 Jun 2009 09:23:23 -0500 (CDT) From: "mike" Subject: does anyone know of a small live cd with software speech To: "ubuntu" Message-ID: <0kl600esllayk...@vms173005.mailsrvcs.net> Hi, I am in need of a small rescue live CD that would have software speech. Grml is perfect, but they don't include the option for software speech on their median or small CD. There is a Ubuntu rescue CD, but it has no software speech on it. Do any of you know of any distro experimental or normal that has software speech using speakup or yasr on it? Thanks Mike. -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Problem Configuring Grade 2 braille
From the instructions page on the Orca web site, I tried to configure Grade 2 braille. I've restarted the computer, but still, Orca has no choice for enabling Grade 2 as it should. Perhaps there is some other configuration setting not mentioned in the instructions? Here are the commands I ran: ./configure --prefix=/usr --enable-ucs4 ./configure --enable-liblouis=yes make make install The output made it look like everything went okay, but obviously it didn't since I don't have any option in Orca for using Grade 2. Any ideas are welcome. -- Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Login sounds not being directed to proper sound device
I have two USB audio devices. I have ORCA set to speak out of one of these devices. Unfortunantely, when I reboot, the usual bongo sound which indicates it's safe to log in is coming out of the second audio device (whose speakers I usually ahve turned off since this is for my music playback). After loggin in, all other sounds (like the login sound) come out of the first audio device as they should. What should I change to have the pre-login sound of the bongos come out of the proper sound card? I've tried various sound settings but to no avail. Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Problm linking to Mozilla nightly builds
I tried linking to the Mozilla nightly builds of Firefox and Thunderbird by adding the following line: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/fta/ubuntu jaunty main universe in the file /etc/apt/source.list As root, I did the command apt-get update in order to update the list of available packes. This complained that there wasn't a public key available for this link. How do I fix this and properly link to the nightly builds so that I can take advantage of the improving accewssibility? Also, as a side note, should I be updating Orca more regularly in a similar fashion? Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Thunderbird Problem Solved
I reported not being able to get into the message of a message by hitting enter or F6. I was going to try and change from HTML view to text view as suggested, but then I restarted Ubuntu. After restarting Ubuntu and loggin in agin, all seems to work this time. Thus, maybe this was a startup problem with the first install of tb. My first tests were after setting up and configuring tb, but I had never rebooted. Thanks everyone for their help. Everything is working nicely now. The only thing that I think is missing is the ability to use first-letter navigation in the tree view of folders. Currently one has to arrow down through the list to find the folder one wants to access. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Re: Re: A few more questions on Thunderbird
Jan, Yes, I had the view set to read the mail in HTML format. Doesn't this work with tb? I thought that would make navigation easier and format more accurate. I'll try setting the view to plain text. If Tb doesn't work with HTML view, should that be noted on the Orca bug list? As I indicated, I could navigate to the message body and read it in the HTML view, but it certainly wasn't easy to get there. T Hanks. -- Pete From: Jann Schneider Subject: Re: A few more questions on Thunderbird To: ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com Message-ID: <4a2a9a9d.6030...@yahoo.de> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed Hi, > On 06/06/09 15:59, Peter Torpey wrote: >> >> >> 1. 1. What is the best way to open and read a message in >> Thunderbird? I haven't been able to do this without performing a lot >> of tabbing. I'm used to just hitting enter on messages to read them, >> but that doesn't seem to work in Thunderbird with Orca. >> Perhaps this happens because you are reading the mails in original html? Take a look into the view menu -> Message Body as.. Here "plain text" should be activated. -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
A few more questions on Thunderbird
Thanks for the suggestions on Thunderbirdf, flat review mode, etc. I'll get on the Orca bug list and follow up with some of these issues. Anyway, I have a few more questions about Thunderbird: 1. 1. What is the best way to open and read a message in Thunderbird? I haven't been able to do this without performing a lot of tabbing. I'm used to just hitting enter on messages to read them, but that doesn't seem to work in Thunderbird with Orca. 2. I installed the Thunderbird beta manually into the /opt/thunderbird folder and created a shortcut on the start menu. Someone on the list suggested that I could add the line: deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/fta/ubuntu jaunty main universe in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d file. I assume that this will add the beta packages to my list of available packages. The question is, if I now use this aptitude packager installer, where does the installed version of Thunderbird go and will it conflict with what I have installed in the /opt/thunderbird directory (or will it overwrite it)? Should I remove the version which I manually installed and configure Thunderbird again? Thanks for any clarifications. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Are There ORCA settings for Thunderbird?
One more Thunderbird question. When running Thunderbird, I got into the ORCA preferences to see if there were any special ORCA hotkeys for use with Thunderbird. I didn't see any. It got me to thinking if there was something else I was supposed to install besides just the beta version of Thunderbird in order to run Thunderbird with ORCA. Are there special ORCA configuration files for Thunderbird? If so, where can I obtain them? Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Orca Flat Review Mode
Using the desktop keyboard layout in Orca, the documentation says that hitting the NumPad - should toggle into and out of Flat Review mode. First of all, Orca never announces whether I am in flat review mode or not, so I never know whether or not I'm actually in this mode. Also, when I use the NumPad keys to navigate, it doesn't seem to matter whether or not I pressed the NumPad minus to toggle flat review mode. I move around the screen the same way in either case. Thanks. --Pete Am I missing something here about this flat review mode? -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Reading Messages in Thunderbird
Okay, thanks to several suggestions on this list, I installed the latest Thunderbird beta rather than using Orca. Although I can open and read messages in Thunderbird with Orca, I don't see how to easily do it. When I hit enter on a message, I'm put in some kind of shredder app window and arrow keys don't do anything. Similarly when hitting F6 or F8. I've managed to get into the message body and read it by hitting tab about a million times. What is the easy way to read the contents of a message. Oh yes, I've selected HTML format. Was that bad? Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
RE: Using Orca with Evolution and HTML Messages
I did try the "caret navigation" option. This gave me access to the header fields of the message, but not the contents of the body of the message. If I don't get any other recommendations here, maybe I'll install Thunderbird. What is the best/easiest way to install such packages? Should I browse under the Add/Remove Programs, Synaptic Package Manager, or simply find the correct install package name on the web and use apd-get install from the Gnome terminal? Thanks. --Pete From: Paul Hunt [mailto:hu...@ukonline.co.uk] Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 4:30 PM To: ptor...@rochester.rr.com Cc: ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com Subject: Re: Using Orca with Evolution and HTML Messages Hopefully someone who uses Evolution can answer this if my solution doesn't work because this is a guess. I actually use Thunderbird not Evolution. There is a setting called something like "enable carot navigation" which lets you arrow around read-only emails as if it was editable text. It should be in the menus somewhere. If this doesn't work I hope someone else can answer this for you. Paul On 31/05/09 21:14, Peter Torpey wrote: I set up my mail account in Evolution, but can't seem to easily red HTML messages. When I hit enter on a message to red it with Orca, the braille display says something like "panel is showing HTML", but the message can't be read. I figured out that I could read the message with Orca if I hit the option to use this message as part of a new message (like forwarding the message). If I do that, the contents can be read by navigating with the arrow keys. This seems a bit awkward, though, and I thought there must be a better method. If not, is there another mail client which should preferably be used with Orca? Thanks. --Pete No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.46/2145 - Release Date: 05/31/09 05:53:00 -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Using Orca with root permissions
I was trying to use the synaptic package manager with Orca. I open this, I'm prompted to enter my root password to gain permission. As soon as I click OK, Orca goes silent. Is there some way to configure Orca to work with these admin applications? Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Using Orca with Evolution and HTML Messages
I set up my mail account in Evolution, but can't seem to easily red HTML messages. When I hit enter on a message to red it with Orca, the braille display says something like "panel is showing HTML", but the message can't be read. I figured out that I could read the message with Orca if I hit the option to use this message as part of a new message (like forwarding the message). If I do that, the contents can be read by navigating with the arrow keys. This seems a bit awkward, though, and I thought there must be a better method. If not, is there another mail client which should preferably be used with Orca? Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
How to Turn on Braille Grade 2 translation
I am running Ubuntu 9.04 with a PacMate display connected via USB. Braille is working fine, but I'm wondering how to turn on braille translation so that I can view braille in grade 2. Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
RE: Getting Braille to Work
Paul, That was easy. Thanks. Now, do you know how I get braille grade 2 translation turned on? I'm surprised that Orca didn't get brltty running since there is a checkbox in the Orca settings to use braille. I guess that doesn't do anything unless you edit the BRLTTY file. Oh well. It would be nice if checking that box in Orca would make that work and also if there were a selection to use Grade 1 or 2. Anyway, thanks again. I'm getting used to Orca and Ubuntu slowly but surely! --Pete From: Paul Hunt [mailto:hu...@ukonline.co.uk] Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 10:49 AM To: ptor...@rochester.rr.com Cc: ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com Subject: Re: Getting Braille to Work Yes the Pacmate displays work with Orca. You need to edit the file /etc/default/brltty And change the no to a yes as is indicated. Paul On 27/05/09 15:07, Peter Torpey wrote: I installed Ubuntu 9.04 onto a separate partition on my PC which had Windows XP Pro previously installed. I have a Pacmate display (from Freedom Scientific) hooked up to my desktop PC via a USB cable. During the install of Ubuntu, I had choices only for installing with speech or braille (not both). It would have been nice to have both, but I chose speech. The install went well with Orca. After the install, I chose to use braille in the Orca settings. Despite rebooting and logging in, however, I am still not seeing anything on my braille display. Does the Pacmate USB display work with Ubuntu and/or Orca? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. --Pete No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.41/2136 - Release Date: 05/27/09 07:50:00 -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
RE: Using Multiple Sound Cards
Paul, Thanks - Your suggestion worked well. The only issue was that I had to guess at which was the correct sound card. Instead of listing the devices by name (i.e., "Sb Live", "EMU 0202", etc.), I was presented with a combo saying USB external ichen PulseAudio USB seemed to be selected (this must have been my EMU 0202 USB device), so I switched to "external" and sound came out of my SB Live USB device. Thanks again. --Pete From: Paul Hunt [mailto:hu...@ukonline.co.uk] Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 10:56 AM To: ptor...@rochester.rr.com Cc: ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com Subject: Re: Using Multiple Sound Cards Assuming you're not using pulseaudio (which is the default for an accessible install of Ubuntu), open gnome-terminal and type sudo apt-get install asoundconf-gtk This will add a "Default Sound Card" option to your System > Preferences menu. In there is a combo box for picking the card you want to use. I imagine Orca will speak through the default card. Might take a reboot. Paul On 27/05/09 15:02, Peter Torpey wrote: I had a strange experience with my sound devices when installing Ubuntu with Orca. Also, I have a question on how to have Orca come out of a particular sound device. First, here is my (slightly unusual) setup: I have Windows XP Pro installed, and Ubuntu installed on a separate partition I have an internal, built-in sound chip, as part of my desktop. I don't use this much. I have an EMU 0202 USB sound device which I generally use for music editing and creation. I have a SoundBlaster Live 24-bit USB device which I use for speech output from JAWS using Windows What went well: I installed Ubuntu using Orca, and speech came out of the internal sound card of my desktop computer. No problems. What went strangely: After installing Ubuntu, I restarted the computer in Ubuntu and logged into my account. Surprisingly, Orca speech came out of my EMU 0202 sound device (although the quality seems rather distorted). Questions: How did this happen that Orca spoke from my internal built-in sound chip during install and then suddenly switched to my external sound device after a restart and logging in? How do I make Orca come out of a specific sound device? For example, I would like Orca speech to come out of my SB Live device. Are there Orca settings for selecting the output sound device? Thanks. --Pete No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.41/2136 - Release Date: 05/27/09 07:50:00 -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Getting Braille to Work
I installed Ubuntu 9.04 onto a separate partition on my PC which had Windows XP Pro previously installed. I have a Pacmate display (from Freedom Scientific) hooked up to my desktop PC via a USB cable. During the install of Ubuntu, I had choices only for installing with speech or braille (not both). It would have been nice to have both, but I chose speech. The install went well with Orca. After the install, I chose to use braille in the Orca settings. Despite rebooting and logging in, however, I am still not seeing anything on my braille display. Does the Pacmate USB display work with Ubuntu and/or Orca? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Using Multiple Sound Cards
I had a strange experience with my sound devices when installing Ubuntu with Orca. Also, I have a question on how to have Orca come out of a particular sound device. First, here is my (slightly unusual) setup: - I have Windows XP Pro installed, and Ubuntu installed on a separate partition - I have an internal, built-in sound chip, as part of my desktop. I don't use this much. - I have an EMU 0202 USB sound device which I generally use for music editing and creation. - I have a SoundBlaster Live 24-bit USB device which I use for speech output from JAWS using Windows What went well: I installed Ubuntu using Orca, and speech came out of the internal sound card of my desktop computer. No problems. What went strangely: After installing Ubuntu, I restarted the computer in Ubuntu and logged into my account. Surprisingly, Orca speech came out of my EMU 0202 sound device (although the quality seems rather distorted). Questions: 1.How did this happen that Orca spoke from my internal built-in sound chip during install and then suddenly switched to my external sound device after a restart and logging in? 2. How do I make Orca come out of a specific sound device? For example, I would like Orca speech to come out of my SB Live device. Are there Orca settings for selecting the output sound device? Thanks. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Network Problems When Installing Ubuntu on XP Machine
Although this problem is rectified now (I don't know how), I thought it was worth reporting to the list to see if anyone has any ideas what is going on. My setup is Windows XP Pro running on a Dell desktop, 2.66 GHz CPU, XP Pro, 1.25 GB Ram, 3 Hard disk partitions each about 100 GB. What I did: 1.Booted from the Ubuntu 9.04 CD and installed Ubuntu. This went well with Orca (although I used sighted assistance to make sure Ubuntu wound up on the correct partition and didn't wipe out Windows!). 2. After the reboot, Ubuntu worked fine. 3. I then rebooted into Windows and ran into a big problem. I could not establish any network connection. Windows kept saying that my Ethernet cable was unplugged (which is wasn't). 4. I tried various settings, updating drivers, etc. Nothing worked. I tried restarting and booting into Windows again. Still, n no luck. 5. This had happened to me once before when installing Ubuntu with Wubi, i.e., I lost all network connectivity in Windows. I had to reinstall my Windows disk image to get things working again (fortunately I had made a disk image!). 6. Finally, on a lark, I rebooted into Ubuntu and ran Firefox to see if the network connection in Ubuntu worked. 7. To my surprise, I ea easily got onto the web and could navigate around. 8. So, I restarted the computer again and booted into Windows. 9. Now, the network connections in Windows worked fine. I was able to search the web, get mail, etc. So, what is it about the install of Ubuntu that seems to knock out Windows networking? Also, why was it that establishing a network connection once in Ubuntu suddenly enabled network connectivity in Windows? I wouldn't have thought that installing Ubuntu as a secondary boot on a separate partition should have affected any Windows driver or settings. Well, at least the problem is fixed now, but it was very frustrating and disconcerting. --Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
ModelTalker Speech Synthesis System
I came across this project which might be of interest to those working on Ubuntu accessibility and/or Orca or other screen readers. The project (currently in beta), is called ModelTalker and is aiming at developing software that will make it possible for an individual to produce a SAPI5 speech engine based on their own voice. The training part is expected to take about 5-6 hours. They are currently looking for additional beta testers. I don't know what the licensing is if one makes a synthesis engine based on their own voice, but this might be an alternative to producing a better quality speech engine than what is currently available as the default in Orca. The samples sounded pretty impressive. Anyway, more information can be found at the site: http://www.modeltalker.com/ Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Installing Ubuntu 9.04 using speech only
Is it possible to install Ubuntu 9.04 using speech only and get everything running? If so, how? I haven't seen anything on the install CD that indicates how to do this. Thanks. n Pete e-mail: ptor...@rochester.rr.com -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Using Orca on NetBook Computers
I am considering getting a small, NetBook computer running Linux for times when we are traveling or on vacation. My questions are: 1.If I purchase something like an Asus EEE PC running Linux, will I be able to load and run Orca on it in order to make it accessible to me? 2. If so, is there a pointer to someplace that can describe how to load and configure Orca on such a PC? 3. Alternately, is it possible or should I consider loading a particular type of Linux on such a PC? 4. If so, how can I load a new operating system without having a CD? Can this be done from a memory card with an ISO of Linux on it? 5. Is there another option which I missed here that might be a better alternative? I was quite taken with a $200 Asus machine running Linux which I saw today - 2.2 pounds, 4 GB memory - and thought it might be a good traveling companion rather than lugging around a 7 pound laptop plus power supply. n Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Question on Using Orca
I loaded up Ubuntu with Orca recently. Since I'm still getting used to understanding the Orca speech synthesizer (I'm a JAWS/Eloquence user), I've been trying to read as much of the on-line documentation on how to use Orca as possible before I run Ubuntu (or Vinux) much more. I've seen references to using Orca with the "flat screen" mode, but I haven't been able to figure out which keystrokes get into and out of this mode. I assume that this mode is similar to navigating around the screen using the JAWS cursor so that one can review what is on the screen without the navigation keys affecting what happens. Anyway, is there such a screen review mode with Orca? If so, how does one pop in and out of this mode? Thanks. n Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Braille terminals and Ubuntu
[PT] I loaded Ubuntu 8.1 into a VMWare virtual machine to test drive Ubuntu before I commit putting it on my Windows PC. It's a bit sluggish, but it seems to work. [PT] Anyway, I got Orca to work fine (out of a USB sound card even!), but can't get the braille to work. I have tried both a Powerbraille 40 connected via USB to serial adapter (I could imagine this wouldn't work since Ubuntu probably doesn't have the drivers for the Belcan USB to serial adapter I'm using), and I also tried a Pacmate display connected via USB. Neither display is automatically seen when I restart Orca after selecting to use braille. I also tried running the BrlTTY command from the run menu with no success. Is there a particular magic to getting a braille display to work with Ubuntu? Also, I noticed that the Ubuntu 9.04 release is out. Is the access software and usability any better with this later version? Thanks. -- Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Windows, MS Virtual Machine, JAWS, and Ubuntu
Hi, I am a blind user who uses the screen reader JAWS to interact with my Windows PC. I am considering installing Ubuntu on my PC, but since I use Windows frequently for some things, I would like to run Ubuntu and Orca in a virtual machine under Windows rather than as a separately booting OS (which would mean taking a lot of time to switch OS). So, my questions are: 1.Will a screen reader such as JAWS work well with the Microsoft Virtual Machine (I'm using XP Pro). 2. If I can get Ubuntu to load inside the virtual machine, will the Linux screen reader Orca be able to work inside Ubuntu? 3. Will there be a problem with two OS's (one running in a virtual machine) using the sound output for speech? Thanks for any info or user experiences. n Pete n -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Multiple Sound Cards
My Dell desktop PC has an internal sound card (which I don't use), as well as two external USB sound cards (which I do use). The external cards are a SoundBlaster Live and an EMU 0202. Since I am blind, I will be using Orca when installing Ubuntu. How can I configure Ubuntu to use one of these external sound cards for speech output? Is that possible? Thanks. -- Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
Using Multiple Boot Partitions with Speech
I am blind and considering installing Ubuntu on my PC as a separate partition in addition to Windows XP Pro (which is currently installed on the PC). Since I rely on speech output to tell what is on the screen, I am wondering if there is any facility for hearing the boot options which are presented when restarting the PC. so that I can boot into the desire partition (i.e., either Windows or Ubuntu). Thanks for any info. -- Pete -- Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list Ubuntu-accessibility@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
