Accessibility is a right
07 Feb 2008 Leave a Comment
in Technology news, useful web site Tags: accessibility, Serotek, System Access To Go
Hello, everyone.
I was listening to the Main Menu Live podcast yesterday when I heard about a very interesting new organisation.
It’s called Accessibility is a Right, and it promotes the idea that anyone should be able to access any kind of information or software, no matter what kind of disability they might have.
One of their associate members is Serotek, the company that produces the Freedom Box and System Access screen reader.
One of the great things about the Accessibility is a Right foundation is that they let you use Serotek’s System Access To Go screen reader for free. In case you don’t already know, System Access To Go is a version of System Access that you can use on the internet. All you have to do is navigate to the System Access To Go home page, and your computer will start talking. If you’re looking for a free screen reader that you can use while you’re connected to the internet, then maybe System Access to Go could be for you.
If you want to learn more about Accessibility is a Right, then please take a look at their web site.
Linux accessibility with the Gnome desktop and the Orca screen reader
22 Jan 2008 1 Comment
in Technology news, Ubuntu, useful web site Tags: accessibility, Linux, Orca screen reader, Ubuntu
Hello again, everyone.
Recently, there have been some promising developments in the world of Linux accessibility.
For those of you who don’t know, Linux is an operating system like Windows XP or Windows Vista, but it’s free to download and install, and many versions of it now include a built-in screen reader called Orca.
Linux is what is called open source, which means that anyone can make changes or improvements to it. This is good from the standpoint of accessibility, because lots of people are working hard to make Linux as easy to use and accessible as possible.
Right now, the simplest way to start using Linux is to download and install a distribution called Ubuntu.
Ubuntu comes on one cd, and it has a talking installation programme. All you have to do to install it is download the cd image, burn it to a blank cd, put the cd in your computer’s cd drive, and restart your computer. The Ubuntu installer will then start, and you can make it talk. You can download a free Windows programme to burn a cd image to a cd disc by clicking here.
If you want to hear a demonstration of how to install Ubuntu with speech, please go to Darragh Ó Héiligh’s web site and download or listen to his audio tutorial. There’s a direct link to it here, but please take a look at the rest of his site, because it contains lots of very useful information about Linux accessibility. If you want more detailed information about installing Ubuntu with speech, then follow this link.
You can also watch a Youtube video from India about using Ubuntu and Orca.
If you want to learn more about the Orca screen reader, then please take a look at the Orca page on the Gnome Live site. If you don’t know much about Linux and you’d like to learn more, then please take a look at the Linux Home Page.
I think that the idea of a totally free operating system with a built-in screen reader is truly a great step forward for blind computer users. Thanks to Linux, you no longer have to pay a lot of money for a Windows pc and a screen reader like Jaws or Window Eyes. You can just download a version of Linux like Ubuntu, and install it onto a spare computer. Also, the computer does not have to have a lot of memory or hard disc space: according to the Ubuntu site, a computer only needs 256 MB of memory and about 20 GB of hard drive space. That’s all!
I intend to write lots more on this topic in the future, so stay tuned.
New small Mac laptop
21 Jan 2008 1 Comment
in Technology news, useful web site Tags: jaws, Mac accessibility, Voice Over, Window Eyes
Hello, everyone.
This is my first post of 2008, and I think it’s an important one.
As many of you may know, the latest Apple computers include a built-in screen reader called Voice Over. Unlike JAWS or Window Eyes, Voice Over is actually part of the operating system, and not extra software that you have to install. This means that you don’t have to pay more money for a screen reader after buying a Mac computer.
This is a very good thing for visually impaired computer users, because it now costs much less to buy an accessible computer.
At the recent Mac World event, Apple released a brand new laptop called the Mac Book Air. It’s very thin, very portable, has about 5 hours of battery life, and costs about 17,00 US Dollars. This is about the same as the price of a standard laptop running Windows, but there’s one big difference: after buying a Windows laptop, you still have to buy a screen reader, which can often cost more than your laptop. On the other hand, Macs now come with a built-in screen reader which is just as good as Jaws or Window Eyes, and you don’t have to pay extra for it.
If you want to know more about Mac accessibility, then please take a look at Lioncourt.com, or you can subscribe to the Screenless Switchers podcast. Another good site is Mac Visionaries, where you can subscribe to some useful mailing lists about the Mac.
