your mail

[Michael Whapples]

I am unsure that speakup works with serial synths under such a
configuration, although I am not completely sure, may be someone who
knows for sure can say. I think this is due to speakup using its own
serial driver rather than the standard Linux driver. If there is
actually a serial port on the machine then you would do better
(possibly) using that, otherwise read on about the alternatives.

I personally would say for a laptop (particularly if you want it to be
mobile) would be to use software synthesis, ubuntu uses this by default
for orca, although any distro would allow you to use software speech
with speakup (although it might need setting up). This means that
distros with accessible install CDs/live-CDs are more limited. As I said
ubuntu is accessible with software speech (using Orca in gnome a GUI),
and I am lead to believe that GRML also has everything on the CD for
software speech (using speakup, text console). 

The question of text console or gnome (GUI) for someone new to linux
with windows experience is one you may wish to consider. Although Orca
may be still in fairly early stages, I feel it is worth considering, as
gnome will have similarities to windows for usage (some hotkeys may
differ from the windows equivilent, but concepts are very close), and
you will be using some software which is more main stream so more
compatable (firefox for a web browser, openoffice for office
applications, etc). Text consoles may be more well developed (as they
have been accessible for a long time), interaction may be quicker when
you are used to it, and suited better to the linear output of speech,
but you will find applications are less main stream, so compatability
may be less (web browser is lynx, elinks or links to name a few, but
sometimes websites can be awkward and want some specific things in web
browsers, and so not work correctly, so either you may find you use
different web browsers on different web sites, or in some very rare
cases it might not work at all (I have had that)).

If you really want to use the hardware synth, but have no serial port
which works with speakup, then you can try one of the screen readers
that run as a normal application so use standard linux drivers. For text
consoles there is YASR and screader. There is also emacspeak, but this
uses the emacs environment on linux and suspect this is what you were
referring to when you mentioned the commands for oralux. Also if you
install emacspeak, Orca can use emacspeak servers for output, so you
could use (possibly) your hardware synth with Orca.

Hope this helps,
Michael Whapples

On Wed, 2007-01-03 at 00:31 -0600, Anthony Creapeau wrote:
> I'm trying to get this running on a ThinkPad X60s which is currently resting
> in a docking station on which the serial port is located. I've checked the
> serial port settings and they are set to the standard defaults. 9600 bits
> per second, 8 data bits, no parity, stop bits 1 and no flow control. The IRQ
> is 04.
> 
> 
> 
> Anthony Creapeau
> Voice mail: (414) 418-1599
> email: creapeaa at msoe.edu
> -----Original Message-----
> From: speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca [mailto:speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca]
> On Behalf Of Luke Yelavich
> Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 12:17 AM
> To: speakup at braille.uwo.ca
> Subject: Re: your mail
> 
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
> 
> On Wed, Jan 03, 2007 at 05:03:10PM EST, Anthony Creapeau wrote:
> > At the boot prompt I typed "knoppix speakup_synth=dectlk" , then I
> > tried the knoppix speakup_synth=spkout and I also just let the boot
> > timer run out and let knoppix boot using the defaults (no arguments).
> > None of my attempts worked.
> 
> Do you happen to know whether the serial port being used is on the actual
> computer motherboard, and that is using standard port and irq settings?
> - --
> Luke Yelavich
> GPG key: 0xD06320CE
> 	 (http://www.themuso.com/themuso-gpg-key.txt)
> Email & MSN: themuso at themuso.com
> Jabber: themuso at jabber.org.au
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> =ooei
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