Linux 9 stretch What to do about reviving speakup? It Works!

[Martin McCormick]

	After getting the path in the correct place in
/lib/systemd/system/espeakup.service, the upgrade works just like
it should.

	If you want the system to boot talking, you also need a
line containing nothing more than espeakup in your /etc/rc.local
script.

	A word about /etc/rc.local is in order.  

	I noticed that stretch or debian9 doesn't come with
/etc/rc.local so I checked things out a bit.

	It turns out that the concept of /etc/rc.local is being
deprecated.  Deprecated means removing something that is easy to
remember, useful and intuitive in favor of something that is
opaque, virtualized and non-intuitive but experts say you can do
so much more with the replacement.

	Just kidding but sometimes it seems like that is what
deprecated means.

	/etc/rc.local still works but it may go away some day.

	After messing with one of the two stretch systems long
enough, I had to completely remove speakup and espeak so I can
attest to the fact that apt-get now gets you a speakup that works.

	After apt-get update followed by apt-get upgrade, it is

apt-get install espeak
You can test it by calling espeak "hello" or whatever expression
you like and, if you hear it spoken, espeak is good.

	Next, as root, apt-get install espeakup and the new
installation should talk to you but you are not done.

	If you rebooted the system right then, it would come up
silent.  You would need to su - and type the command espeakup
followed by the carriage return to have speech again.

	If you put 'espeakup' in /etc/rc.local, that will start
the process as soon as the system has enough resources to run
speakup.

	/etc/rc.local gets run each time the system reaches a new
run level.  It is a /bin/csh shell script so you must make it
executable with chmod +x for it to work.

	I would hope/imagine that something will replace it
eventually and it may actually be better but such is the march of
time.

Martin

Tom Fowle <wa6ivgtf at fastmail.fm> writes:
> A hearty second to Janina's thanks to both Samuel and Okash.
> I wasn't aware of their "screen reader usage" status till recently.
> 
> Your efforts are very much appreciated.
> 
> Tom Fowle