Vinux 1.31 - Ubuntu for the visually impaired!

[drbongo]

Because Vibuntu uses a pre-configured user account, the username and password
are retained after an install. This has confused a few people. You can change
both your user name and password after install using the terminal.

To change your password type 'sudo passwd orca', enter the password orca,
then enter the new password twice.

To change your username type 'sudo usermod -l newname oldname' into a
terminal, enter your password, press enter and then log out and back in again
using the new username.

I will include the username change command in the help file in the next
version of Vibuntu.

drbongo

[linuxguymarshall]

Most people who are visually impaired and need to use a computer already paid $150 for a GeekSquad lame-*** to come to their house, another $1500 for a computer that is more than they need, $250 more for in-home setup and $250 more for software and hardware geek squad said they "needed"

in other words, they wont switch.

[drbongo]

Hi, unfortunately I think you are correct! But it is just because of this that I want to make Vibuntu. I hope in the future that we can avoid people falling into this expensive trap in the first place, or at least show them that there is an alternative to paying for yet another expensive upgrades to their operating system and accessibility software.

drbongo

[drbongo]

I have now posted a rough guide to how I made Vibuntu 1.2 from a default
install of Ubuntu 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) on the Vibuntu Development Blog for
anyone who is interested - http://vibuntu.blogspot.com/

[jonathonblake]

another $1500 for a computer that is more than they need,

Before suggesting that a US$1,500 is more than they need, I'd suggest you price the cost of the hardware that blind users utilize. (I'd love to see a used Braille Display unit in working condition, for US$1,500.)

in other words, they wont switch.

The entire ecosystem of a11y services revolves around the party that provides the product/service being paid by a party other than the one that receives the product/service. And, as usual with such ecosystems, there are no "checks and balances{", and the market place is distorted by the economics required to justify higher budgets each year.

The entire ecosystem is predicated on maximization of revenue, and minimization of real, actual,viable services that are provided. (Freedom Scientific is on record for stating that they will never provide support for software that is not distributed by, or authorized by Microsoft. They aren't the only company to publicly admit that their applications, by design, do not, and will not function with specific programs, because "defective by design", is their method of creating software.)

Since both distribution,and support are unavailable, there is no rational reason to switch to Linux. Currently, the amount of support for Linux, that the average individual with a11y needs can receive, is less than zero.

Vibuntu is for a niche market --- blind people who have a linux tech on 7/24 call. I hope it is successful.

Given the history of Linux distros for the blind, I doubt that Vibuntu will be around in two years. However, I would be surprised if the a11y tools that it introduces are not migrated to other distributions.


jonathon

[drbongo]

You may be right, but I hope you are wrong and the only way to find out is to try and that isn't going to do anyone any harm. With the proliferation of netbooks, linux if getting used by more and more people who are not technically inclined and will just use it if it works. If it does get more popular on the desktop then inevitably there will be VI users who want to try it and perhaps the greatest incentive is the extortionate price of commercial accessibility software etc. The Wright brothers were told on a regular basis that they were wasting their time and only a few eccentrics would ever want to fly in an aeroplane. But they persisted and the sky is now full of aeroplanes containing people who don't know anything about how they work!

Maybe I should have called it 'Pigs Will Fly Linux'!

drbongo

[jonathonblake]

the only way to find out is to try and that isn't going to do anyone any harm.

The virtue of projects like ViBuntu is in the tools that they create, that are migrated to other distributions.

With the proliferation of netbooks, linux if getting used by more and more people who are not technically inclined and will just use it if it works.

For blind individuals, the major limiting factor for notebooks is the absence of a Braille display screen. Arguably, the lack of a Perkins keyboard is another limitation of netbooks.

perhaps the greatest incentive is the extortionate price of commercial accessibility software etc.

A11y support vendors are _not_ paid by the people who utilize their offerings, but,instead, are paid by third parties. Those third parties are either government agencies, or non-profits. In either instance, they need to justify having a higher budget each year. Even when the FLOSS product outperforms the commercial offering, the commercial product will be utilized, because that does not threaten their revenue stream, whereas the FLOSS product does.

IOW, under the current a11y ecology, it doesn't matter what FLOSS solutions are presented, because the organizations that allegedly help those who have a11y issues, get more revenue from rejecting FLOSS, than embracing it


jonathon

[Sef]

A11y support vendors are _not_ paid by the people who utilize their offerings, but,instead, are paid by third parties. Those third parties are either government agencies, or non-profits. In either instance, they need to justify having a higher budget each year. Even when the FLOSS product outperforms the commercial offering, the commercial product will be utilized, because that does not threaten their revenue stream, whereas the FLOSS product does.

IOW, under the current a11y ecology, it doesn't matter what FLOSS solutions are presented, because the organizations that allegedly help those who have a11y issues, get more revenue from rejecting FLOSS, than embracing it

One has to have faith that things will change. The change will not come fast, but slowly.

[LaPingvino]

Hello!

I read this thread with a lot of interest, as I know several blind Esperantists and I'm the computer specialist for quite some people (and luckily for them having a lot of interest in accessibility, sourcing from writing accessible websites) and luckily enough the Esperanto voice (and Braille? need to find out that...) works quite nice.

This efforts should make it easier and easier to get blind Esperantists an operating system in their favorite language. I am planning to get an Esperanto-only disc of ubuntu some day, and with the efforts of Vibuntu it will be easier to make such a disc of use for all Esperantists. If some other languages should be included in such a release, or for some other reason, please contact me!

Yours,

Joop Kiefte (LaPingvino), admin of the Esperanto Ubuntu-translation team in Launchpad
ubuntu-eo.org (coming "soon")

[drbongo]

I am happy to announce that we have now rebranded Vibuntu as Vinux after
discussion with Canonical about the use of the 'buntu' suffix. They were
happy to let us call it the Ubuntu VI Remix but we decided to go with Vinux
which now recursively stands for Vinux Is Not Ubuntu but gnu/Linux! We have
been busy creating a new website, mailing list and development blog and hope
to have a new release out soon - Vinux 1.3! The URL's are:

Homepage: http://vinux.org.uk/
Development Forum/Mailing List:
http://groups.google.com/group/vinux-development
Development Blog: http://vinux-development.blogspot.com/

There are already threads created on the forum/mailing list for bugs reports,
suggestions, help and advice and user profiles, but you are free to start new
threads on different topics if appropriate. We do not expect there to be very
high traffic initially and we will still post significant new release
annoucements on other related mailing lists. The development team currently
consists of myself, Tony Sales (aka drbongo) as the main developer and
Osvaldo La Rosa (aka ald0) who is responsible for web administration etc. We
would of course welcome support from people who would like to contribute to
the project in any way at all. I will be posting a list of small modular
tasks which people might like to take on board as needs arise. Ideally I
would like to have a core development team of 3 to 6 individuals, with
specific responsibilities and a looser collection of individuals who would
contribute on an adhoc basis when required.

The project is still very much in its infancy and there is plenty of scope
for evolution...

Hope to hear from you soon, drbongo and ald0.