newbie question...

[Laura Eaves]

Hello -- I'm new to the list and am looking to get a new laptop on which i 
want to run linux with speakup.
I am an experienced unix user, but switched to windows when my vision got to 
the point where i could not read the screen with screen mag any longer, and 
so i started using a windows screen reader.
However now i understand there are quite good screen readers for linux, of 
which yasr, speakup, emacspeak and gnopernicus are recommended by various 
people.
i want speakup as i want to administer my household linux box and so want 
control of the console as early in the boot process as possible.

Ok, now after having read the blurbs on the speakup web pages, i have the 
following questions:

I noticed one of the pages listed a project called Tuxtalk that was a 
minimal software synth compiled in with speakup in the kernel to eliminate 
the need for a hardware synth.  However, the page was dated 2002 and the 
project wasn't finished.
Since i don't have a hardware synth (yet anyway), is there currently a 
version of speakup that runs without a hardware synth?
If so, what are the hardware requirements? i.e., sound card etc.

Also, i noticed speakup works with a bunch of hardwaare synths and also most 
or all of the major linux implementations, but i couldn't find at first 
glance whether i needed to comppile the kernel myself or whether there were 
binaries available.
could someone point me to a place for newbie linux-speakup installers to 
learn about hardware requirements and how to build and/or select and install 
the right version of linux with speakup?
Can speakup with linux run well on a laptop?

Thanks for any info on these topics!
there is actually general interest among several people on another lisst --  
and I have posted the address of this list for them to join if they want --  
but if they don't id like to pass along any info I find out.
Thanks in advance and happy new year!
--le