It is obvious that we are not going to agree over this, but everyone is entitled to express their own opinions and I understand and respect your position even though I don't completely agree with it. Our peers in the wider VI community will ultimately be the judges not me or you. I am not going to make any money out of this and I am trying to reach as wide an audience as possible, which I wouldn't call advertising but dissemination. I hope we can agree to differ on this issue, and I would of course welcome feedback and or suggestions regarding Vibuntu if you think it can be improved in some way.
Have a good xmas! drbongo -----Original Message----- From: Ken Perry [mailto:whist...@blinksoft.com] Sent: Sat 13/12/2008 14:27 To: Anthony Sales Subject: RE: Vibuntu Press Release I am not arguing that your distro is needed I am arguing that its "the First accessible" distro. I like to see things stand on their own merit not some advertising claim. Ken -----Original Message----- From: Anthony Sales [mailto:tony.sa...@rncb.ac.uk] Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 7:23 AM To: Ken Perry Cc: orca-l...@gnome.org; ubuntu-accessibil...@lists.ubuntu.com; gnome-accessibility-list@gnome.org Subject: RE: Vibuntu Press Release Ken, I agree with what you have said, the but as you state - it is 'skilled users' that are able to do such things, not beginners who have never heard of or tried Linux. I am not trying to steal anyones thunder, because my target audience is different to yours - I am aiming at schools, colleges and institutions which need accessible software but cannot afford expensive commercial products and don't have staff who have used Linux themselves. This is the very specific niche at which this distro is aimed - and I challenge you to use Orca with any admin apps on the ubuntu 8.04/8.10 desktop without making complicated changes and/or knowing how to use the terminal. I still maintain that this is the first Linux live CD to be accessible to sighted, blind and partially sighted users out of the box with no prior experience of linux. I agree that 99% of the credit for this lies with Gnome, Orca, Compiz and Ubuntu, probably in that order. All I have done is make a few small but significant changes which Ubuntu could have done if they wanted, but they didn't and neither has anyone else to my knowledge. Again send me a link to an iso which is as easy to use for novices out of the box and I will abandon the project, because I don't believe in wasting my time reinventing the wheel, its just that all the wheels out their seem to be round and I want a square one! ;) I appreciate you thoughts, and welcome this kind of discussion, if you are correct then there is no need for a Vibuntu type distro and the project will fail. I have taken the liberty of posting these communications on the Orca, Ubuntu and Gnome mailing lists as I would like to open this debate up to the wider community. Keep in Touch Drbongo -----Original Message----- From: Ken Perry [mailto:whist...@blinksoft.com] Sent: 13 December 2008 01:59 To: Anthony Sales Subject: RE: Vibuntu Press Release Maybe saying easily usable and accessible then because I am sorry but skilled users have been using Redhat as far back as Redhat 6 and I am not talking about from telnet. I have used that from day one of Slackware with telnet. Furthermore Ubuntu 8.04 seems to have solved most of the administration problems and again while it has problems its more accessible than windows or Mac and I think you would have a hard time if you came out and said you have the first accessible Vista box. I might be arguing semantics but I feel saying it's the first accessible Linux distribution degrades the work the Speakup team has done all the way up to current Fedora to the work Ubuntu has done to make the Ubuntu 8.04 distro work out of the box. Just because it is hard to do something does not mean it's not accessible. If you want to talk usability then I would agree with you on the points you have already pointed out. As I would agree with someone if they finally made a safe mode for Windows we could use or a bios editor for mother boards. Just because we cannot do these things does not. I thank you for making a more usable accessible distribution but I don't like miss leading advertisement. make the OS un-accessible. Ken -----Original Message----- From: Anthony Sales [mailto:tony.sa...@rncb.ac.uk] Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 7:47 PM To: Ken Perry Subject: RE: Vibuntu Press Release True, but my release clearly states that it is the first linux distro to be accessible and have a full gui desktop for sighted`users as well. I may be wrong, but I am an experienced Linux user and I and many other people having been looking for a distro like this for years. Also in a default Ubuntu install Orca will not work with many of the admin applications like ubiquity etc unless you know how to turn Orca off and restart it in --no-setup mode in the terminal etc, which means you will have no speech feedback and need to know the keystrokes from memory. It is unlikely that a beginner would know how to do this and that is why Vibuntu is aimed at VI users who have never tried Linux before, but the provision of a gui desktop allows other sighted users to use the same distro. I have no intentions of misleading anyone and if you could point me to the URL of a linux distro that does everything Vibuntu does out of the box I would love to know about it as then I wouldn't have to spend hours modifying someone else's inaccessible distro! drbongo -----Original Message----- From: Ken Perry [mailto:whist...@blinksoft.com] Sent: Sat 13/12/2008 00:12 To: Anthony Sales Subject: RE: Vibuntu Press Release I do have to say that saying that ViBuntu is the first accessible Linux out of the box is a bit um untrue. There is the Speakup distributions and Ubuntu is accessible just with picking the access options so I think your add is miss leading. Ken -----Original Message----- From: gnome-accessibility-list-boun...@gnome.org [mailto:gnome-accessibility-list-boun...@gnome.org] On Behalf Of Anthony Sales Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 4:00 PM To: ubuntu-accessibil...@lists.ubuntu.com; gnome-accessibility-list@gnome.org; orca-l...@gnome.org Subject: Vibuntu Press Release I have written a short press release aimed at VI users who may not know about Linux. I would be grateful if you could post it on any general accessibility/software sites/forums you use if you think it would be a good way of getting the uninitiated to give Linux a try! If we manage to get enough interest from a few institutions, charities or government agencies it may be possible to obtain some funding for a few developers to work on the project full or part-time! Thanks for all the support. I hope people on the mailing lists don't think I just a self-promoting megalomaniac, I really do want to help VI users and I believe (perhaps naively) that Vibuntu is a step in the right direction. Please feel free to shoot me down in flames! <straps on his asbestos wings and applies liberal amounts of sun-block> The press release follows! Vibuntu - The first Linux distro to be fully accessible to blind and partially sighted users out of the box! Vibuntu is a customised version of the popular Ubuntu Linux distribution optimised to meet the needs of visually impaired users by default. Vibuntu comes in the form of a live CD which you place in the CD drive and then restart your computer. Once it boots a screen-reader is activated, USB Braille displays are automatically detected and full screen magnification can be turned on/off with a simple keystroke. Vibuntu also provides an attractive visual interface which makes it suitable for sighted, partially sighted and blind users. You can navigate the menus and applications using the screen-reader and/or Braille display or switch this support off and use the full screen magnification. This is an ideal way of introducing visually impaired users to the Linux operating system which offers a free and open-source alternative to expensive proprietary software. This is very safe and secure way to let someone experience Linux and experiment without taking any risks or making any changes to your computer. You can continue to use Vibuntu as a live CD or install it to your hard drive either alongside Windows or as a complete desktop replacement. It is also possible to install and run Vibuntu from a USB memory stick if your computer supports USB booting. If you are interested in trying Vibuntu or would just like to know more about it please visit the project website at http://blinuxman.net/projects/vibuntu.php Confidentiality: This e-mail and its attachments are intended for the above named only and may be confidential. 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