still more on bug

[Albert Sten-Clanton]

John, though the typing in my message below yours here was utterly lousy
(too many beers), such criticisms as I made were not directed towards you,
and I said as much there and in a later message.  Those concerning the
acceptance of software speech were in fact aimed at earlier comments from
somebody else.  

I most certainly and indisputably did not accuse you of saying that blind
people would have to build their own machines in order to get serial ports:
nothing you said gave any basis for such an assertion on my part, so I never
made it.  (Indeed, I had noted earlier yesterday that 

<www.pcsforeveruyone.com>

May actually offer serial ports.)  

Furthermore, you are among the people to whom I recall expressing gratitude
yesterday for replying positively to my question whether a blind person
could build a machine.  I must apologize if I wrote badly, but I reiterate
that I was not criticizing anything you said, and did not even address a
couple of things you mention here.

In sjhort, I have found your recent messages here concerning Speakup, serial
ports, and related matters helpful.  My concern here is that support for
hardware speech may become difficult to get down the road, maybe even
impossible for somebody not well-versed in kernel matters, and my impression
is that you may share this concern at least to some degree.

Maybe using a reply to one of your messages was a bad idea; if so, for that
I apologize.  It was the vehicle I had, and, as I said above, I tried to be
clear that your comments were not the reason for my expressed concerns.

Take care!

Al

 

-----Original Message-----
From: speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca [mailto:speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca]
On Behalf Of John Heim
Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 12:23 PM
To: Speakup is a screen review system for Linux.
Subject: Re: still more on bug

Al, practically everything you wrote below counters arguements I never made.

First, I didn't say blind people who want a machine with a serial port
should go out there and build one. I offered that as one possible solution
and, in fact, said it wasn't for everyone. It was the third option I listed.

Secondly, I never said people shouldn't be satisfied with software speech. 
I said hardware speech is necessary to some people for doing things like
rescuing down servers.  If you never have to do something like that and are
happy with software speech, obviously, its fine by me.

Third, I never said ordinary users of speakup shouldn't ask for new
features.  In fact, that's exactly what I did myself when I said that
speakup is going to have to support USB hardware synths someday.  I merely
objected to someone elses suggestion that it wasn't likely to happen.  We
weren't discussing whether supporting USB synths is a good idea or even
whether its reasonable to ask for that feature. We were only disagreeing
about how likely we are to ever see it.

From: "Albert Sten-Clanton" <albert.e.sten_clanton at verizon.net>
To: "'Speakup is a screen review system for Linux.'" 
<speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 6:41 PM
Subject: RE: still more on bug


> John, now much sight, if any, would you think is needed to build a PC 
> with serial ports?
>
> Not a direct respons to you, but I suspect that, if a majroity of 
> blind folks using Linux do indeed express a degree of satisfation 
> iwhth software speech, it could gbe because they're stuck with it, 
> much as most blind people use Windows because, as somebody said to me, 
> "you can't fight the giant." Software speech does have its advantages, 
> perhaps portability being the most notable one I can think of, but, 
> for those who like to know hwat's kicking in as booting progresses, 
> there's nothing like using Speakup with a hardware synthesizer.  
> (Indeed, this is a key difference between using Speakup and a hardware 
> synthesizer and dealing with a Windows machine--or DOS in the old 
> days.) For those who would say either write the relevant code or shut 
> the hell up, I'd say this:  if ordinary users don't count, then we can 
> forget Linux ever even remotely approaching Windows or any other 
> much-uused operating system in popularity.  As a believer in freedom, 
> I would regard it as an undermining of Linux'
> S mission to declare that only the elite among us have any business 
> declaring--commanding--our destiny.  (Even Microshaft doesn't do that, 
> I
> think.)
>
> I appreciate your own efforts, so wish to be clear that the comments 
> in the previous paragraph are aimed at a perspective that, as far as I 
> can tell, does not seem to be yours at this pioint.  As a user who is 
> unlikely to master the relevant code, I do not wish to be relegated to 
> the status of one who must accept whatever the alleged majority wishes 
> to inflict and the programmers wish to comply with.  I will 
> reluctantly but dutifully crawl back to Windows, or find something 
> else, if software freedom is not accompanied with top-notch software 
> quality, or if we mere user mortals are commanded to take what we're 
> given or wear muzzles.
>
> Al
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca
> [mailto:speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca]
> On Behalf Of John Heim
> Sent: Wednesday, February 15, 2012 5:53 PM
> To: Speakup is a screen review system for Linux.
> Subject: Re: still more on bug
>
> From: "Deedra Waters" <deedra at the-brannons.com>
> To: "Speakup is a screen review system for Linux." 
> <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 6:34 PM
>>
>> I'm saying i know several who have worked on speakup over the years 
>> and the folks who've maintained it lately can't fix it/haven't been 
>> able to is probably the better wording here. As for me, no i'm no 
>> coder at all but saying i'd be willing to work on it if i could code 
>> my way out of a wet paper bag.
>>
>
> Well, don't be so negative, okay? First of all, the current group of 
> developers are smart guys. I'm not saying they'll have it tomorrow but 
> they may get around to it eventually. And if not, I'm sure someone 
> will pick up the ball. Heck, it might even be me.
>
>> maybe you should tell del to start advertising the models with serial 
>> ports?:P point is like i said the machines i've gotten which are 
>> generally the shitmachines as i > call dells haven't had them:P
>
> It might be a good idea for you to ask on this list for 
> recommendations next time you need to buy a new PC. Its not difficult 
> to get a PC with a serial port. Another suggestion I have is to check 
> used computer stores. You might be able to find a slightly older 
> high-end model for cheap there. Of course, there is also the option of 
> building your own PC. I built my last two PCs myself. Admittedly, that 
> is not for the faint of heart.
>
>
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