Questions about programs under Linux.

[Janina Sajka]

I have no objection to your opinion. But, an opinion isn't a theory. Nor 
does it warrant telling a new user "maybe you should ..."

Have I used emacs with speakup. Of course. Often. It's not the same as 
emacspeak, but many things work very very well. Some things, like 
calendar, are splendid in emacspeak and tortuous with speakup. But, that's 
an exception, not the rule.

Why am I so steamed. Because you didn't have a reason, and reasons are 
most certainly called for when you start telling new users what to do. As 
it happens, emacspeak has a pretty steep learning curve, and there's 
precious little support when users don't remember what to do. And, there's 
no support for the boot process itself. All this stands to reason, of 
course, because emacspeak isn't a screen reader, as Raman plainly says in 
the Emacspeak FAQ.

On the other hand, speakup is a screen reader. It chatters verbosely from 
a very early point. It is forgiving because all the information on screen 
is available to be purused over and over, ad nauseum. The instructions for 
using speakup will fit on one page, and that's just a lot easier for 
someone new to pick up. Learning linux well enough to do some basics can 
be enough of a chore on its own. 

I just think the options, and the conbcombitant requisites should be laid
out clearly and honestly.

So, please, you're welcome to your opinions. That is your perogative. But, 
if you take on the guise of an experienced user telling a new user what 
they should consider doing, have the good grace to explain why and what's 
involved. I think expecting you to justify your advice is very reasonable. 
And, if you don't want to do that, what's the point of expressing an 
opinion. We're not taking a poll last I looked.



 On Mon, 11 Mar 2002, Yvonne Smith wrote:

> Janina Sajka writes:
>  > Isn't it a bit irresponsible to offer up advice for which you cannot even 
>  > offer a reason? You thought it should be so? On what basis did you think 
>  > this?
>  > 
>  > Or, is "think" the wrong word here?
>  > 
> I would really like to know here just precisely what I've said or done
> to get this type of response. I put forward an *oppinion* it was not
> really advice, it was an option for the user concerned. I know this list
> is dedicated to speakup, and not emacspeak, and everyone would much
> rather talk about one than the other but I never heard of anyone getting
> blasted on this list for a theory.
> 
> Right at this particular moment, I am completely unable to *test* what
> I've said myself, since due to circumstances I have absolutely no
> intention of talking about here, I can't use my external synthesiser,
> even if I wanted to. Should I then unsubscribe from this list and not
> attempt to help another user?
> 
> So? Have you used emacs under speakup alone? Can you give more accurate
> advice than I have?
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
> 

-- 
	
				Janina Sajka, Director
				Technology Research and Development
				Governmental Relations Group
				American Foundation for the Blind (AFB)

Email: janina at afb.net		Phone: (202) 408-8175

Chair, Accessibility SIG
Open Electronic Book Forum (OEBF)
http://www.openebook.org