sight challenged newb & 6.06 LTS?

[SVDtiger]

hi, im glad to be here and my name is john.

im pretty much unsighted now due to accident a few years back. im a linux noob as of today (much thanks to shipit and gilles casse both). for years i have stuggled with that other os just to use a computer. i started in the land of dos and os2 but still never got to advance much due to constant housecleaning and upkeep issues with winwoes.

my machine is much like myself older quirky
and needs to be replaced with newer model says my lady :O

here it is:

Main Circuit Board b500 megahertz Intel Pentium III
32 kilobyte primary memory cache 512 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Intel Corporation WS440BX AA744110-205
Serial Number: ISWS95111008
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Intel Corp. 4W4SB0X0.15A.0015.P10 09/28/1999
Drives Memory Modules c,d
40.01 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
37.63 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

_NEC DVD_RW ND-3520AW [CD-ROM drive]
Generic floppy disk drive (3.5")

WDC WD40 0BB-53AUA1 [Hard drive] (40.01 GB) -- drive 0, rev 18.2 256 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'J6J1' has 128 MB
Slot 'J6J2' has 128 MB
Slot 'J7J1' is Empty
Local Drive Volumes


c: (FAT32 on drive 0) 40.01 GB 37.63 GB free
Network Drives
None detected

i plan to do total install of what you folks would or could recommend as best choice for visually impaired user with the resources i have here.

i have oralux distro and want to use it for
when i go totally blind. doctor says i will sometime but not when. of course as they all guess anyway

i want to use any tech that i can to have better or semi normal life. computer adds much to disabled folks lives. i think by going to linux now and learning all i can now about command line operations will aid me with use of any readers i am forced to use later. is that good clear thinking??

i mean if you knew you were going to be blind what packages would you install and learn to use? i have firefox and thunderbird now running but in windows so im familiar with these apps but thats about it. im fully willing to dump it all and install what is recommended to me. i think gnome is gorgeous and oh so clean. im hooked and dont even have anything installed :)

my interests are fairly simple i guess i do emails some and i browse some, a bit of ftp
to my lame little php guppy website.

but i do plan to get my amateur radio license and embrace linux packet radio later for more activity and hopefully some day even find blind guy employment.

right now i have ubuntu 6.06lts , 6.10 and oralux 0.7 alpha all on professionally burned cd. thank diety for that.

anyway i know noobs are problematic. ill try not to be one of them. im here in the boonies with no local LUG or even well sighted person to help me thats any more computer literate than self.

please know this im very grateful to have found
this path and truly think learning to use linux is very best thing i could be doing.

i hope to one day find other visually or physically challenged persons in my area
and help them into using linux based systems to aid themselves too.

most high regards and a big thank you in advance. john

[ReaderRat]

Hello, John, and welcome to Ubuntu Forums.

My name is Ben. I have been on the forums now for two months, and I am a newbie like yourself. And, like yourself, I am visually impaired....Diabetic retinopathy....blind in one eye and about 65% in the other. That has not stopped me from enjoyimg Ubuntu and the forums.

First off, don't hesitate to post problems here. This is one of the most helpful communities that I have run into online. Next, if you need another eye to find something, you may email or PM me, and I will be glad to help you (Keep in mind, I am a newbie, and not good with really technical stuff.)

You have 256 Megs of RAM, which is the minimum for a full Ubuntu install. If you cannot install, try the Alternate CD, which uses less resources, but is text-based (no GUI). I recommend that you use Dapper Duck (v.6.06) instead of Edgy Eft (6.10), because it is more stable at the moment, and everybody seems to be having wireless problems with Edgy.

I must admit I am obstinate about using what vision I have, so I have not checked out the Assistive Technology in Linux. Sorry I cannot help there. Firefox comes in the package, so you can use it, and Thunderbird is just a few clicks away from installation.

I am leaving some links that mey be helpful. Have a good day, and may the Ubuntu be with you...

Dual-Booting (One HDD) (http://users.bigpond.net.au/hermanzone/)
Ubuntu Wiki Search Engine (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/FindPage)
Printer Database (http://www.linuxprinting.org/database.html)
Ubuntu (Unofficial) Guide (http://ubuntuguide.org/wiki/Dapper)

[ciscosurfer]

Hi, John! Welcome to Ubuntu!

I am not sure how much I can help you, but I will certainly try.

I am not familiar with Oralux so I will stick with what I know in Ubuntu.

As far as technology goes, the 6.10 release of Ubuntu, called Edgy Eft, has better support for what you need over the 6.06 release.

Ubuntu comes with a program located in your Preferences menu called Assistive Technology Preferences.

You can find it by going to the System menu located in the upper left corner of your screen. Click System and then hover over Preferences and there you will find a link at the top called Assistive Technology Preferences.

Assistive Technology Preferences is an administrative panel of sorts that will help you set up Screenreader and Magnifier as well as the on-screen keyboard.

In Edgy, at the command line, you enter the word orca and be prompted through a basic setup.

In the terminal, you can also increase the text size by hitting the key combination of Control Shift plus (or control plus). To decrease, you would enter the key combination of Control minus.

Firefox is the standard web browser in Ubuntu, so you will be right at home. You can easily install Thunderbird too if you are not comfortable with the default in Ubuntu called Evolution.

After a quick search in the software repositories, it looks like there are a few programs right off the bat that you can use for your ham radio endeavors. I hesistate to mention any names because that is territory and I am unfamiliar with.

I hope this gets you started!

Please continue to post to the forums, and to this thread, as many people in the Ubuntu community are ready and quite willing to assist others with issues and the like.

Glad you stopped by and I hope we can help you out!

Welcome to Ubuntu!

Sincerely,
CISCOSURFER

PS I would add the following: Check out this link about learning how to use Ubuntu (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=142716&highlight=help+yourself). It is very helpful.

[SVDtiger]

hey much thanks for the guidance and kind offers to help me. nice to meet you both too. ben im about the
exact same on sight bro.

the oralux i mentioned is a tiny linux distro that has emacspeak and other like that.

i really did ok today as i got my cd drive working again so now i am checking out the live cd and loving it.it was like windows knew it is on the way to the dump and put up a last ditch struggle to avoid any installs. sneaky windows. i think after i copy my pets pics onto disk im going to format just because its 98

yes yes thunderbird and firefox. i really like them and am very happy to see them in ubuntu. im not as lost now.

im on dial up here and have a best data hardware modem so im hoping it will do ok and be found on the install config.

what a great day. thanks guys. thanks ubuntu team

[ReaderRat]

From what I have read, you should not have a problem (other than setup) with a serial (external) modem. If it's on board the mobo, you will have to find a driver for it. Here is a Modem HowTo (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DialupModemHowto) if you need it....ReaderRat

[Henrik]

Great to hear that you're getting on well with Ubuntu!

256MB is minimal for the live CD, but it should work fine on an installed system.

Sounds like the most important thing for you will be to get the magnifier working well. There are several people in the accessibility forum section who have lots of experience with that and should be able to help.

The magnifier works better in 6.10 than 6.06, so I would stick with that.

[SVDtiger]

good morning my friends

hello Henrik, its an honor to meet you sir. my humble thanks to yourself and team for all you folks do for us. brightest blessings and successes in all you touch.

the 6.10 i have is a burned cd from Mr. Gilles Casse, that he included when he sent his Oralux distro to me all the way from France. So good words to him for steering me to Ubuntu :)

i will use the 6.10 as recommended. my old PC got a complete inside cleaning yesterday too when i had the cd/dvd's out. my my at the huge bunnys living in there. massive bunnys indeed.

i did see that i have another slot available for more ram. so another 128 will sure help when i can get it. ram was 50 bucks/meg when i last purchased

my plan is this: to get the little 300 pentium of Lesia's back online so i can get to forum if i have issues. Lesia said if we can after the new years she will get me modern Tux box from Madtux. He has afordable Libux based pc's there that seem quite the bargain. so ill just give this box to Lesia and keep
dog pics and games on a non netted win98 box (the 300 compac)


im thinking i might really need to just run live cd until i can get the Ubuntu manual ordered from Prenticehall books. Lesia can read even if she cant config system for me.

im still pondering completely wiping win98. i have 40 gig drive and 37gig free the other 3 is just win and cleaning junk to keep it operational and 100 megs of pet pics of the dog being silly. im unsure
if dual boot is what i need or want. i loathe windows so much. i read and reread "Linux is not win" and im so glad its not. so so glad

well i have written another dang novel. im sorry for being so long winded. meds and no outside contact i guess make it this way :( sorry. i guess i sound dumb as a box of broken hammers. thanks for not flaming me. i know you guys wont but i apoligize
to all others.

very highest regards and much thanks. John

[SVDtiger]

well my friends, im going in to do install with 6.10

no windows will be on this box in a bit. i feel empowered and looking positive at the challenge.

i backed up all my bookmarks for firefox and addy book
and config for t-bird on floppy. cant see anything else worth keeping.

cant see to play my windows games i have either so i see no reason to keep win.

ill be back when i can with a report of how it progressed :)

blessings, john

[SVDtiger]

the install went very very well i think. no more winwoes and i like
that immensely

it did not detect my best data 56spx2 exteranl modem that i can see
in devices. i purchased it especially for linux back when i wanted mandrake. i have other modems but they are iffy at best so ill pursue this external and try to config.

im very pleased with the 6.10 its so awesome and im glad i made the change. i feel so empowered. there is joy :)

i go search site for info now. best regards to all