Keyboard shortcuts for Ubuntu and Orca
25 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Announcement, Ubuntu, Useful file Tags: ubuntu orca
Hello, everyone.
This post contains two PDF files.
The first is a list of keyboard shortcuts for the Ubuntu operating system, and the other is a list of keyboard shortcuts for the Orca screen reader.
Ubuntu Version 8.4 has been released
01 Jun 2008 1 Comment
in Announcement, Ubuntu Tags: accessibility, Orca screen reader, Ubuntu
Good evening, everyone.
In April, a new version of the Ubuntu Linux distribution was released.
This version includes many accessibility improvements, and is definitely worth installing.
There is an excellent audio tutorial by Darragh Ó Héiligh about how to install Ubuntu version 8.4 with speech. However, there are many other useful walk-throughs and tutorials on his site, so I’d definitely encourage you to take a look.
Running Ubuntu Linux from a USB thumb drive
27 Jan 2008 Leave a Comment
in tip, Ubuntu Tags: Ubuntu, USB thumb drive
Good evening.
Since my last post about using Ubuntu Linux with the Orca screen reader, I’ve found out that it’s also possible to run Ubuntu from a USB thumb drive.
If you want to experience working with Ubuntu but you don’t want to install it, then this method might be for you.
You can find detailed instructions about how to set up a thumb drive for Ubuntu by clicking this link.
The good thing about running Ubuntu from a thumb drive is that you can do it from Windows.
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.
