Vinux (was: Re: Accessible Ubuntu Installation?)

[Tony Baechler]

Hi,

I'm not trying to pick on this particular post or the person posting 
it.  Is it just me, or do others here have a real problem with the idea 
of using a specialized distro for the blind?  Let me explain what I 
mean.  I am a very happy Debian user, although I've looked at Slackware, 
Red Hat, Gentoo and the Ubuntu live CD.  All of those are mainstream 
distributions that happen to have accessibility support.  Is it just my 
attitude or do others find using a special distro for the blind 
demeaning and insultive?  Instead of expecting people to use a 
blind-friendly distro, why not use an already accessible distro such as 
Debian or Ubuntu in the first place?  Besides generally getting a lot 
better support and a larger user base, there is no guarantee that a 
single developer will continue releasing new versions of the specialist 
distro in a timely manner.  That happens with mainstream distros 
already.  Also, granted I refuse to use the Vinux CD for the simple 
reason that I feel that I shouldn't have to use a specialist distro, but 
what does it offer that Ubuntu doesn't already?  From what I've read, it 
has deleted graphics packages but still comes with the same 
accessibility features and packages.

A good example of what I'm talking about is Oralux.  It's now abandoned 
and apparently used its own packaging system.  I was helping someone 
switch to grml because Oralux wasn't really working anymore and was 
abandoned.  Why not just use Debian or grml in the first place?  If 
someone could please explain why Vinux is so much better than a 
mainstream distro and why one should lower their standards to using a 
special distro primarily for the blind, I would be very interested.  To 
me, this is like being required to use sighted help for something that 
the blind can do independently.  Note that I'm not talking about using a 
screen reader or software to help the blind do a task easier, I'm only 
talking about locking oneself into a special distro that might not have 
long term support and is not designed for the general population.

Georgina Joyce wrote:
> But just having caught up I noticed that no-one seemed to mention vinux.
>