2019-07-24 13:48:39

Hi, I have been looking around and I have a difficult time finding a Linux distribution that is more blind friendly. I have been using Zorin OS for the past week and I am looking for a light wait distribution for my desktop.

2019-07-24 14:42:14

You may try UbuntuMate. It is pretty accessible.

2019-07-24 16:03:18 (edited by JessicaGG 2019-07-24 16:03:55)

I love ubuntu mate, the only reason I'm not using it myself is Discord and spotify's accessibility not beeing a thing. Granted that is not Discord or Spotify's fault on the linux part.
Oh, and chrome,, but I've heard you can get around that, by installing Chrome VOX (Or whatever the chrome screen reader is called)

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2019-07-24 17:35:23

I'd try mate or vinux

2019-07-24 17:50:19

vinux is old and no longer being updated. I would just go with Ubuntu mate.

2019-07-24 22:02:23

Well having used ubuntu mate it works.
Vinux main website is no more it seems though there are downloads on the sourceforge site for it.
Same with sonar gnu linux which I did use once and is supposed to be a good arch distribution.
As you may or may not know, I have a cast called blindvms, www.cutt.us/blindvms for the rss
www.anchor.fm/blindvms or
www.mixcloud.com/crashmaster depending on what you want.
What is zorin os like, can it be used, or am I wasting my breath.
I may make an episode on zorin.
If you think its usefull, maybe you could even be in it, if you think its good tell me what is or isn't good about it and I will look at it.
II have to work later today so I may not get to it today but we will see.
I have a few more series on things to.

2019-07-25 00:18:51

If anyone really wants a vinux iso, i have one around here somewhere, but yeah, go with mate unless you want to have orca audo enabled during setup, and have a few areas be a bit more accessible.

2019-07-25 00:42:27

Vinux went EOL, i.e. no updates, no security patches, nothing at all since 04/19. Ubuntu Mate is easy to use and it is possible to install it with Orca from the live image.

It's the same deal with Accessible Coconut, but my issue with distros made specifically for blind users (which I've expressed before), is they come with a lot of software I don't personally think is useful at all. I don't need, for example in AC, two or three desktops, audio players and so forth. Ubuntu Mate is extremely good in this regard, it comes with what you need to get up and going.

On the Arch side, there's vanilla Arch, there's Jenux or the Free OS Project

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2019-07-25 00:45:18 (edited by JaceK 2019-07-25 00:46:32)

Also, Slint, too if you really, really, /really/ want to use Slackware based distros. I showed it to a friend, and they ran away screaming from it because Slackware. That's another option, honestly.

EDIT: Sonarr GNU Linux merged with Vinux and apparently fell off the face of the Earth

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2019-07-25 03:27:01

Well to be honest as a precurser I tried a vm of zorin, just to see what it was like on the podcast before I made it.
Firstly the settings app just isn't usable in any shape or form, a screen of text but nothing else.
If you get a program with checkboxes you need to right arrow to the box then hit space on it.
The default gnome menus looked like menus, but no first letter nav, and no scrolling so up and down manually.
The software centre is accessible.
Its about the only gripe I have with ubuntu mate, software bootique just is a bunch of fucking unlabeled buttons.
Thats fine for what its worth but I wanted to doodle wiith it and see what it did.
There is no gnome sound in there, but I guess I could look for that later.
Orcer will not autoload at startup automatically after first start.
I may actually try it again just to see how really bad zorin is.
What I really want but can't seem to get with speech working right is siniman which mostly works.
I also want to know why ulsa audio is so wimpy in volume on my vms.

2019-07-25 05:07:33

@10 I found that the settings for the gnome 3 desktop to not be vary accessible at all. Zorin OS is still using the menu system as before, and I some times have to press tab a few times to select objects in the commble boxes. I had to use the terminal to install the gnome software center to get it in ubuntu mate. Good luck on using Zorin OS also I really hate gnome 3 desktop.

2019-07-25 09:18:32 (edited by JaceK 2019-07-25 09:20:04)

On the note of software things, one thing I'll say is get used to the terminal, it's a lot easier to open a terminal then type sudo apt install whatevder, or pacman -S whatever than fight with a software botique, personally, I'm used to the terminal simply because I find it a lot easier to use and quickerr and more detailed.

EDIT: Mate settings is a /lot/ more accessible however, it's all checkboxes and labled buttons however.

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2019-07-25 09:56:07

I just use the normal ubuntu and not the mate version, that works as well. You have to press super alt s when it boots, it might be good to have a sighted person tell you when a live user and a not listed here thing show up, then you can just activate orca and boom.

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2019-07-25 10:02:06

Except Ubuntu uses Gnome 3.X by default. See above for why it's not the most accessible.

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2019-07-25 11:35:59

I mostly use Debian with mate plugged in and no problems with it.

73 Wj3u

2019-07-25 11:46:05

I would like to ask I have installed vinella arch on many times on a vm but I could never really get sound working and now Debian I can no longer use because there is no speech on install. How is using slackware because I never really used it before and would like too.

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2019-07-25 11:54:37

No idea on Slackware, Slint's apparently more accessible but Slackware as a whole is a big fuck no from me simply because I don't want to try it to find out it's not got X Y or Z, really. I've been warned off of it by quite a few people honestly, but try Slint in a VM, hell try Jenux or Free OS in a VM, try any distro in a VM

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2019-07-26 11:14:31

My big issue with some of these things like debian in command mode was the fact that alsa speech was so fucking quiet as compaired to pulse audio that I had a hard time with it.
I don't know all the package names to install things, I have had it where an update to the software using apt get -upgrade suddenly completed but stopped me running commands and the vm stopped accepting them.
I forgot my password though so I killed the vm.
I'll put it back later when I have something to do with it.
Its a shame about zorinos though.
I didn't like the continuous menu scroling.
For me ubuntu mate just worked, but I am used to the old gnome2 system  on old fedora.
I'd still like a way to load everything one day.
Though my want to continue with linux has sort of stopped now I have managed to get dosbox to work with com0com and such.

2019-08-20 13:06:39

I'd also like to know of another alternative to Ubuntu Mate. I've tried it and it seems to be very sluggish, at least when using Orca. Everything else I've tried doesn't allow me to enable Orca to install the system.

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2019-08-20 22:34:34

Yeah I tried it on a vm, it was ok, but orca spoke comand keys and it was a bit slow.
Slint, well I never got it to install on the vm, speech would cut off either at login, during install or something.
Trying to login to a network needed a domain and password which I never had.
And I could never get fedora or others to even do the win alt s thing and never got things to work.

2019-08-20 23:16:19

For Orca and command keys, that one is under key echo. It's the first thing I do in any Linux distro that can get Orca going, kill off key echo bar words typed.. For Slint, that's a Slackware issue for networks, and for Orca cutting off I'd bring that up to the maintainer honestly, they can probably help you ut with it. It's funny, I see the maintainer smacking people over the head and being all SWITCH TO SLINT IT IS BETTER THAN <insert distro here>, yet I've heard nothing but shit about Slackware as a base distro from people who actually have had to use it, and people who have used Slint haven't given it glowing praise either. Kind of makes me curious to try it on a VM really, but I'm heeding the warning of a friend who swore off (and at) Slackware for being a giant pain in the butt to set up. Then refusing to work for the most basic of tasks. Like you, Crash, they ran into the network issue and it even refused to connect once they put in the right info.

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2019-08-22 02:03:54 (edited by Chris 2019-08-22 02:05:06)

eI just installed Ubuntu Mate on my 2013 MacBook Air, and it actually works surprisingly well. I guess this distro isn't meant for really old computers with 2 GB of 667 MHz DDR RAM and an Intel Core Duo T2050 CPU? It's a shame, I thought this would work well on those older systems. The RAM usage is unbelieveable! System Info reports I'm only using 1.0 GB of RAM!

The only problems I have now are difficulties learning how Orca Flat Review works, and my Wi-Fi card isn't working. I have to use a USB Ethernet adapter. Any ideas?

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2019-08-22 21:39:04

hi guys, i would like to know more are the most useful commands to navigate with orca, and i'm still getting used to the terminal, and i will use mate too

2019-08-23 02:37:16

I would just like to add that I am typing this post on a Debian Machine. I am using Mate as my desktop. This has been my daily machine for the last 9 years or so. I have had several versions of Debian on it, and the machine runs as fast at it did when I bought it.

2019-08-23 17:40:52

I'm pretty sure I need to see how easy Debian is in a VM?

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