Speakup enabled Distros for Blind Technicians

Thu Jan 19 18:37:47 EST 2012

Hello, John.

I actually tested out GRML in a live environment. I downloaded the 
hybrid image because I never really know when I need a 32-bit version.

I have a 16 GB flash drive which contains three partitions: one which 
contains portable applications for doing work within Windows, a second 
partition which now holds GRML, and a third partition for data which I 
may need to access from within GRML.

In any case, I thought I would try out a few thigns, and I found that 
the chntpw program for changing or clearing Windows passwords is present 
in the ISO.

The only issue I really had was that eSpeak would become very jumpy when 
using scripts such as the grml-network script. Even so, I was able to 
silence it and use the review keys to navigate the dialogs which were 
presented; I am not sure if these scripts use something like the dialog 
program or ncurses.

It was a great experience, though.

I am probably going to get a USB card reader, though, so that I can 
store all of my utilities on an SD card. My flash drive does not have a 
write protect switch, and so it is quite vulnerable when it comes to 
working on infected systems.

Thanks for the reply, John. So far GRML seems like the perfect tool for me.

On 01/19/2012 12:13 PM, John Heim wrote:
> If grml does not have something you need, let me know and I'll pass it 
> along to the grml developers. I can't guarantee anything, of course. 
> That password changing program seems like a likely candidate for 
> inclusion though.
>
> It may already be on the grml CD for all I know.
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert cole" <rkcole72984 at gmail.com>
> To: <speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 11:35 PM
> Subject: Re: Speakup enabled Distros for Blind Technicians
>
>
>> Thanks for the responses, Glenn, as well as others who have responded 
>> to my message.
>>
>> It looks like GRML has everything I would probably need built in. 
>> This is going to be great as it will be even more of an incentive for 
>> me to learn the command line. As I mentioned before, I do a lot fo 
>> work on computer systems for peopl earound me, and I was looking for 
>> a great Linux system that I could use to recover files from broken 
>> Windows installations as well as other things. While I still enjoy 
>> working with a GUI environment, I am really beginning to see that I 
>> can do much more in the command line, and much more quickly at that.
>>
>> Thanks for the suggestion of GRML, as it seems like the best choice 
>> for me and for what I need. I want to try to work as much "eyes free" 
>> as possible when it comes to working on computer systems nowadays.
>>
>> I added the GRML Debian repository to my Ubuntu 11.10 sources.list, 
>> installed grml2usb, and then successfully installed and tested GRML 
>> on my flash drive. It worked perfectly!
>>
>> Glenn, thanks for suggesting Vinux and Ubuntu. I am primarily a 
>> Ubuntu user right now on my desktop system, but I don't think I could 
>> use either of these for doing PC repair and recovery work from a live 
>> environment.
>>
>> Take care, everyone, and thanks again.
>>
>> On 01/18/2012 06:13 PM, Glenn wrote:
>>> I like Ubuntu, but I would go with 10.10, as 11.04 and 11.10 do not 
>>> work so
>>> well with Orca, and I am sure that you would have the same problems 
>>> with
>>> speakup.
>>> Vinux has a great version of Ubuntu ready made for the visually 
>>> impaired.
>>> Glenn
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> From: "Robert cole"<rkcole72984 at gmail.com>
>>> To:<speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 8:02 PM
>>> Subject: Re: Speakup enabled Distros for Blind Technicians
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks, Glenn.
>>>
>>> I actually ran apt-cache search password, and I came across chntpw in
>>> the results.
>>>
>>> I tested GRML under VirtualBox, and it was pretty easy to get Speakup
>>> running (just entering the commands modprobe speakup_soft and then
>>> espeakup as I believe I read somewhere on this list).
>>>
>>> I still have a lot to learn as far as the command-line goes, but I 
>>> think
>>> that it is the better route for me. I used to rely heavily on a screen
>>> magnification, and I would use ADRIANE Knoppix with the Compiz
>>> magnifier, which all worked very well. But not all computers which I
>>> work on have 3D acceleration support, and I am beginning to work pretty
>>> quickly in the command-line. It seems like I can get things done a lot
>>> more quickly in a CLI environment than I can via a GUI.
>>>
>>> So, other than GRML and ADRIANE Knoppix, is there anything else
>>> available with Speakup support which could be used as a technician's 
>>> tool?
>>>
>>> I think taht GRML will work great. I just am curious as to whether or
>>> not there are other options because I like to tinker and test 
>>> sometimes.
>>>
>>> Thanks for all fo the replies.
>>> On 01/18/2012 05:30 PM, Glenn wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>> I found a good Debian app for changing windows passwords, I think 
>>>> it is
>>>> something like:
>>>> cnpwd
>>>> I can find it for you if you are not able to locate it.
>>>> It works well.
>>>> Glenn
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Robert cole"<rkcole72984 at gmail.com>
>>>> To:<speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2012 6:38 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: Speakup enabled Distros for Blind Technicians
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> thanks for all of the replies.
>>>>
>>>> I downloaded GRML, and I will try it out more in-depth soon.
>>>>
>>>> I just need something which I can use to work on Windows or Linux
>>>> computer systems (more often Windows based systems). One example would
>>>> be that of backing up data on a system with a broken Windows
>>>> installation or doing something like virus scanning or password
>>>> restoration GRML seems like it would be a great candidate.
>>>>
>>>> On 01/17/2012 08:54 AM, John Heim wrote:
>>>>> I recently wrote a wiki entry on how to use the accessibility 
>>>>> features
>>>>> of the latest grml release. You can find it here:
>>>>> http://wiki.iavit.org/index.php/Accessing_grml
>>>>>
>>>>> I would also recommend that you check out vinux.  Grml is a live CD
>>>>> designed to be used for rescuing computers. Vinux is a ubuntu fork
>>>>> with speech enabled by default. They're not really competitors.
>>>>>
>>>>> PS: The wiki in the URL above is for the International Association of
>>>>> Visually Impaired Technologists. If you want to give something 
>>>>> back to
>>>>> the blind community, consider writing some wiki entries and sharing
>>>>> your knowledge.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert 
>>>>> cole"<rkcole72984 at gmail.com>
>>>>> To: "Speakup List"<Speakup at braille.uwo.ca>
>>>>> Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 3:31 PM
>>>>> Subject: Speakup enabled Distros for Blind Technicians
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>> Hello, everyone.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I do a lot of PC repair work for different people (friends, family,
>>>>>> etc), and I was wondering if there are any live Linux distributions
>>>>>> which are Speakup-enabled that would aid me in this task. The only
>>>>>> one that comes to mind right now is ADRIANE Knoppix, but I 
>>>>>> believe it
>>>>>> makes use of Orca.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't really need a GUI, although it can be helpful at times, 
>>>>>> but I
>>>>>> am just curious to see if there is anyone else on the list who knows
>>>>>> of any distros for this sort of task that could be run from a CD or
>>>>>> USB key that have Speakup readily available.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I am still a bit new to screen reading software, but it is sure
>>>>>> making my life much easier. What little vision I have seems to get
>>>>>> much more easily strained nowadays.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Thanks for any input.
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Speakup mailing list
>>>>>> Speakup at braille.uwo.ca
>>>>>> http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
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