SuSE-Blinux: a new Screenreader; Debian? (fwd)
(Forward it to interested deb-devels if necessary or to ther right Deb person). Hi, I have on one pc the very great chance to use Debian 2.1 with a hardware braille-display. But actually on another pc I'm suffering from the refusal of my old braille display (not brltty supported) to let me work under Deb. So on pc1 I've a great pleasure to work, on another nothing more than frustration! Okay there is now an Ocularis project around Deb. But blind do prefer braille; SuSE seems to have understood this. Then, what about braille support and voice while installing for Deb ??? Is Ocularis the one and only idea ? Is there any release date ? SuSE did it; but I LOVE DEBIAN and want to continue using Deb, without having to change. DEB is GREAT! I thing deb is a good dist for blind, because of a much developed console-mode philosiphy/apps. In general ways I do appreciate much more the Debian philosophy. Short inst experience journal: to solve on my 2nd pc this access problem, my friend Frederic Peters (Deb devel), have tried to install screader + Festival: impossible to run this combination (75 % of total processor capacity is used for that)!!! If devs are happend, I recommend the porting of Euler (tts) + mbrola for Linux; see http://tcts.fpms.ac.be link to Mbrola. Now follows the article. Grtnx, Osvaldo La Rosa - Deb user - BE >-- Forwarded message -- >Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2000 16:02:07 +0200 >Hi Listers! >Maybe the folloing article about the new Sscreen-reader SuSE-Blinux >is interesting for some of you... > > *** >SuSE Linux 7.0 suitable for partially sighted and blind people >The first Linux-distribution which supports installation and >applications >in Braille! >Since the mid-eighties, more and more partially sighted and blind >people have been able to work on computers. This was made possible >by the invention of the Braille-device (Braille-Zeile). This is an >additional device which is connected to the serial port of the PC. >Via the Braille-device, the blind person can read the information >displayed on the >screen line by line and check his/her own entries. >As part of the new version 7.0, SuSE Linux has now developed the >screen reader SuSE Blinux - a piece of software which enables >partially sighted and blind people to work with Linux comfortably. >SuSE Blinux is neither an independent distribution nor a kernel >patch but rather a so-called daemon, i.e. a program that runs in >the background. One advantage of this >is that SuSE Blinux does not compromise system security in any way. >Furthermore, blind users have unrestricted use of all applications >of the >new SuSE Linux version which run on the text console. They can even >compile their own kernel. >During the boot-process of the installation-CD the system >recognises a Braille-device, if connected to the system. If this is >the case, the SuSE-specific installation tool Yast2 switches to >text-mode. At the same time, even before the LogIn, the screen >reader is started. This makes SuSE >Linux the only system in the world which offers Braille-support >during installation. Blind users can follow the complete >LogIn-process and install and configure their own system. They can >then work on the text console, using the Braille device and >possibly a voice system. >Braille writing, as it is taught in schools, is made up of a >combination of 6 dots per character. Computer-Braille, however, >uses 8-dot combinations. In this way all 256 characters which can >be displayed on the >screen can also be output in a Braille module. More options for >transferring the information from the screen become available. E.g. >lower >and upper case letters or various colours can be differentiated. All >those >who are familiar with 6-dot Braille will not find it difficult to >convert >to 8-dot Braille. Reading Braille information from a Braille device >does, >however, require disproportionately more effort from the user: >While users without sight-impairments can scan the screen at a >glance and pick out the relevant data, blind users have to work >their way through the screen contents line by line. >This is why SuSE Blinux supports the user during screen navigation >by putting the Braille device at the position of the relevant >information. To >put it more clearly: The Braille device represents exactly that >line on the screen on which the cursor is currently positioned. >Data which are not >relevant at the moment are of course still available on the screen. >With every move of the cursor the Braille device jumps to the >current line of the cursor. Therefore, the user can immediately >follow any changes on the >screen. Cursor routing, e.g. for correction purposes, can be >achieved via
Re: Braille devices (the problem was DOSemu)
Hi all, In my specific case where I wasn't able to run a Alva ABT280, this was the hardware problem + this should be the solution: - the problem: the DB9 connector on the rear panel didn't have the function of serial connection for the device; so the only way for the ABT280 was the parallel port. (No spex from factory, as Nicolas Pitre explained). But Dosgate, see http://www.cs.unibo.it/~zinie/dosgate uses DOSemu, and DOSEMU IS NOT IMPLEMENTED FOR PARALLEL PORT. - The solution was/is: the implementation of DOSemu so that I was able to run C:\ABT280.EXE 1 (corresponds to lpt1) and that's all, then returning to Linux. Project: it is not promised to me, but I will ask again for confirmation: a student of the KU-Leuven should start the DOSemu implementation, but not before November. During this time, I must try a non-braille solution: Screader + Festival fails. I do also had contact with the developer of Speakup (http://www.linux-speakup.org) for developing his screen reader for usage in combi with software-speech (Mbrola, TuxTalk, not Festival: too big/slow/75 % of processor usage for him). --I'm not on this list, for reactions send it in CC to my address: [EMAIL PROTECTED] or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Grtnx, Osvaldo La Rosa ---In answer to your session:--- On 2000-08-19 [EMAIL PROTECTED] said: >cc: VZW AUDIO/BRAILLE <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] >org, >> [CCed to linux-kernel, as IMO the best idea would be to implement >>this at kernel level] >> On Wed, 16 Aug 2000, VZW AUDIO/BRAILLE wrote: >> > Hi, I have on one pc the very great chance to use Debian 2.1 >>with a > hardware braille-display. But actually on another pc I'm >>suffering from > the refusal of my old braille display (not >>brltty supported) to let > me work under Deb. So on pc1 I've a >>great pleasure to work, on another > nothing more than >frustration! > >> [...] >> I've seen the request for braille device support during >>installation here on debian-devel for many times, and IMO the >>best approach would be to support these devices at kernel level. >>The reason for this is that a daemon approach would compromise >>system security, as some (luckily not too many) braille devices >>have special interface cards which require hardware access. Also, >>a daemon has to be started in order to be useful, so that you >cannot see anything if the boot fails. > >> Comments? >First, let me say that I'm actually the maintainer of BRLTTY >(http://www.cam.org/~nico/brltty) and used it most everyday on >Linux for nearly six years now. I would like to take this >opportunity to answer some questions and kill some common myths >that I keep encountering over and over. All this rambling also >applies to other packages similar to BRLTTY... >Braille Display Support >--- >BRLTTY is quite modular and actually support over 10 different >brands of braille display families. Adding another is just a >matter of having the protocol specification from the manufacturer >(you know the classic problem?) and someone to implement it. So >the user space vs kernel space argument is a non-issue for "my >display isn't supported" statements. The scarce braille displays >requireing a special interface card are mostly using firmware on >the card that emulates a VGA text display, or that retrieve data >directly from the video memory of your VGA card, in order to send >it directly to the braille display thus not relying on software >support at all. In the case where kernel support is absolutely >required, only the raw low-level communication support must be in >the kernel, nothing more. System Security >--- >BRLTTY only requires access to /dev/vcsa0, /dev/tty0 and /dev/ttyS0. >It is intended to be used by the person at the console only and >that person usually has root access. If you don't want to run >BRLTTY as root, you just have to adjust permissions on the above >devices. Braille-Enabled Linux Installation >-- >The fastest and easiest way to have Linux installed for a blind >person might still consist of a sighted person assisting the >instalation up to the activation of BRLTTY. Has anyone been able >to install NT or W2K with braille support during the OS >installation anyway? But... since Linux is also about freedom... >Linux installation may even be done with BRLTTY on bootdisks! I've >installed many version of Red Hat in the past without any sighted >help and also got reports of success stories for Slackware and
