What does it take to fork the kernel?

[Bill Cox]

Hi.  I'm trying to improve integration of speakup for an upcoming
Vinux release.  Currently, I install it with module-assistant, which
has two problems.  First, speakup is loaded as a module, rather than
compiled into the kernel.  Second, every time Ubuntu ships a new
kernel, speakup breaks, until the user issues the magic command 'sudo
m-a a-i -f speakup-source' and reboots.

I'm considering having a custom kernel, compiled with speakup for
Vinux.  I have two questions, as a speakup novice.  In particular,
I've never used speakup when compiled in the kernel, so I'm only
guessing how it works.  First, is there some way to disable speaking
by default during boot, and only enable it if the user asks for it?
The first sound Vinux normally makes is the login window chime.  I
think it will confuse some users and possibly annoy others if they
wind up listening to the boot messages, but I want the option to
listen.  Second, do you know what it takes to maintain the kernel
packages?  I'm also a novice debian packager.

Alternatively, I can make it so the user does not have to type the
command to recompile speakup by detecting that it is not loading and
then recompiling on boot.

Finally, I've been asked to make some changes in default speakup
settings (turn cursor tracking off, and set punctuation to some).  Is
the recommended way with speakupconf?

Thanks,
Bill