Speakup with Fedora or Redhat

Fri Jan 8 04:49:21 EST 2010

Hi,

Ok,  looks like I will be going with Fedora for now.

So,  looks like what I need to do is:

Get fedora installed
Download and compile Speakup into the Fedora kernel

Where exactly do I get the synthesizer modules for Speakup?  Are there any
free modules to get me started, or do you need to pay for them all?

Which  software synthesizer is considered to be the best, or most widely
used?

Regards,

Tim

-----Original Message-----
From: speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca [mailto:speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca]
On Behalf Of Darragh O Heiligh
Sent: 06 January 2010 13:40
To: Speakup is a screen review system for Linux.
Subject: Re: Speakup with Fedora or Redhat

Tim,

Answers to your questions are below:

1.  If I go with Redhat as opposed to Fedora, which version of Redhat should
I use.  Will speakup be compiled into this kernel or does it need to be done
manually.  If it needs to be done manually is documentation available for
this process?

As far as I am aware, Speakup was only supplied with only one Red hat
kernel.  It is no longer part of the stock kernel for Red hat. Installation
instructions should be available somewhere. If you have problems finding
instructions or you'd like some suggestions / help with the process, give me
a shout.

2.  If there really isn't much difference between Fedora and Redhat, which
version of Fedora should I use?  Is there a modified speakup distribution
for Fedora 12?  If not,  can speakup be compiled into the Fedora 12 kernel?

What version and flavour of Linux that you choose depends on what you want
to do with it.  Of course, it also depends on how much support you can get
from the community. Especially when you are just starting out with it. For
that reason alone, I would suggest that you go with Fedora.

Fedora 12 does not yet have a speakup modified version available via
speakup-modified.org for some reason.  However, there are no reasons that I
am aware of why you shouldn't be able to compile speakup into the kernel.  I
have Fedora 12 on a box at home.  I might try to get some time to do this
shortly and report back.  If I'm successful, I'll place the audio recording
of the process to www.lalrecordings.com so that others can follow.

The installation process for installing speakup into the kernel is
reasonably similar for most versions and distributions.  1... download and
install dependencies, 2.  download the speakup source, 3. install any
dependencies for your software synthesizer, 4.  use make cloneconfig if your
distribution supports it.  If not, copy the config file from ....... aah! I
cant remember where that is stored.  5.  use make menuconfig to add speakup
and the synthesizer module as a module as part of the kernel or a loadable
module that can be loaded in the application space. finally, use the
commands for preparing and compiling the new kernel. That's a really
summarised process but it will give you an idea what is involved.

3.  I will need to use a software based synthesizer.  I believe TTSync is
the one closest to Eloquence, which I use on windows.  Will TTSync work with
the latest versions of speakup on Fedora and Redhat?  Since it is software
based, I'm assuming that TTSync won't speak from boot up?  If not, can I use
an alternative during boot up and then switch to TTSync?

There's a bit to answer there...
Yes.  you can have two synthes available to you. just compile them as
loadable modules. TTSynth will almost definitly work for you, you'll just
need to spend time finding and installing the dependencies... and in some
cases, the dependencies of the dependencies.  It can be messy but worth it
if your set on using that synthesizer. You are right that hardware
synthesizers are your only option for reading boot messages in realtime.
There is a list of synthesizers in the Linux install howto on
www.speakupmodified.org I personally use an apollo but I hate it.

Hope this answers your questions.

Oh, sorry for not answering your mail a few weeks ago that you sent
directly. To answer your question, the only talking boot loader that I am
currently aware of is the one available during the installation of OpenSuSE.
I know there were a lot of plans in that community to extend the
functionality but due to various priorities getting in the way, I haven't
followed the work on this.  I'd suggest talking to Brian, one of the main
men in the OpenSuSE accessibility movement.

If this is concerning you though, there are ways of making the navigation of
the boot screen a bit easier by making modifications to the menu.list

On 06/01/2010, Tim Culhane <tim.culhane at criticalpath.net> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm in the process of getting a new PC in work.  I'm going to be 
> installing a partitioned drive with linux on one of the partitions.
>
> I work as a software engineer and many of the products I work with run 
> on Linux,  and the preferred  flavour is Redhat Enterprise Server.
>
> AsI'm blind I want to use a flavour of linux which works with speakup 
> on my desk top.
>
> I know that speakup works with Fedora  and that Fedora is based on 
> Redhat. There appears to be a modified speakup distribution of Fedora 
> 9 available.
>
> So,  I've the following questions:
>
> 1.  If I go with Redhat as opposed to Fedora, which version of Redhat 
> should I use.  Will speakup be compiled into this kernel or does it 
> need to be done manually.  If it needs to be done manually is 
> documentation available for this process?
>
> 2.  If there really isn't much difference between Fedora and Redhat, 
> which version of Fedora should I use?  Is there a modified speakup 
> distribution for Fedora 12?  If not,  can speakup be compiled into the 
> Fedora 12 kernel? Is there documentation?
>
> 3.  I will need to use a software based synthesizer.  I believe TTSync 
> is the one closest to Eloquence, which I use on windows.  Will TTSync 
> work with the latest versions of speakup on Fedora and Redhat?  Since 
> it is software based, I'm assuming that TTSync won't speak from boot 
> up?  If not, can I use an alternative during boot up and then switch 
> to TTSync?
>
> Many thanks for any assistance you can give,
>
> Regards,
>
> Tim
>
> -------------------------
> Tim Culhane,
> Critical Path Ireland,
> 42-47 Lower Mount Street,
> Dublin 2.
> Direct line: 353-1-2415107
> phone: 353-1-2415000
>
> Tim.culhane at criticalpath.net
> http://www.criticalpath.net
>
> Critical Path
> a global leader in digital communications
> ------------------------
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Speakup mailing list
> Speakup at braille.uwo.ca 
> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
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