Starting with Linux

[Saqib Shaikh]

Hi Karen

Speakup will work with any distribution of Linux, since it is built into the
kernel, however the more important question is: Which distributions are
nicer for text mode.

Take for example, Lindows, Xandros and Lycoris.  These have a few essential
command line tools but you'll have to go and find the rest yourself.
Another issue with such distros is that they have lovely startup sequences.
While you can disable graphical boot, and graphical login, this would defeat
the goal of such distributions.

In the middle you have the powerful desktop-oriented distributions, like
Mandrake, SuSE and Redhat/Fedora.  Here you can disable graphical boot and
graphical login because I believe Speakup won't like this.  Then you have
the entire system at your disposal, with hundreds of text-based apps.
However, to configure things you will need to delve into configuration files
since convenience tools are only provided for the GUI.

Finally you have Slackware, Debian and Gentoo for whom text-based and
GUI-based users are of equal significance.  You'll have the same text-based
utils as say Redhat, but there'll be more people using those text-based
tools on that distro IMHO.  Also, there are more convenience scripts IMHO
for text-based configuration -- pppconfig, liloconfig, netconfig, etc from
Slackware spring to mind.

This is not definitive - just one person's views. 

Saqib

-----Original Message-----
From: speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca [mailto:speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca]
On Behalf Of Karen Lewellen
Sent: 25 April 2004 19:15
To: Speakup is a screen review system for Linux.
Subject: Re: Starting with Linux

Hi,
This exchange brings up a question.
Granted, there are no absolutes here, since each user has his own goals for
Linux, and such personal computing should be respected.  It is in fact just
what Microsoft seeks to remove from computing "personal,"
still given the many distributions of Linux, which is best for working with
speakup, pros and cons if there is more than one?
Thanks,
Karen

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004, David Csercsics wrote:

> >Snip:
> >"You do not need a GUI in Linux so don't waste the time with Gnome as 
> >your effort to make it work will NOT be rewarded"
> >Reply:
> >On the contrary I use gnopernicus for a great many tasks and with 
> >Gnome 2.6 and Gnopernicus 0.8.4 functionally operating you can use 
> >gedit if you like a Windows-like text editor like I do, use file 
> >roller to unpack archives, balsa for sending/recieving email, 
> >gnome-cd for playing music cds, gnome-volume for controling volume, 
> >and a handfull of other apps including Openoffice on a daily basis.
> >Point here, while gnopernicus has a long ways to go there is many 
> >things it can be used for on a daily basis.  Weather every end user 
> >of the software has the same needs or uses it for those kinds of apps 
> >depends on the user and is subjective. However, saying that it can 
> >not be used on a daily basis is off base.
>
> OK well I guess I stand corrected then.
>
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> Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>

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