Dear BLINUX Mailing List,
Project Ocularis is looking for volunteer
Python, Perl, C/C++, and XML developers.
In brief, Ocularis is a distribution of the
Linux Operating System that aims to allow the visually
impaired to communicate, work, and express themselves
through computers as well as to install and customize
their system, independent of sighted assistance. More
detailed information about Ocularis in included below.
Developer Positions:
Python and Perl developers will be working on
various scripts that filter and organize information
for the visually impaired, that provide links between
commonly used, basic applications or utilites and
pre-existing speech synthesis software, and that
comprise fundamental applications.
C/C++ developers will be focusing on modifying
current Linux installers, pre-existing speech
synthesizers, and other basic applications that have
already been created. In some cases the developers
will be writing code from scratch. The basic
applications that Ocularis will possess are a word
processor, calendar, calculator, basic accounting or
finance application, file manager, Internet browser,
and e-mail client.
XML developers will be working on one of
Ocularis' subprojects, User Interface Markup Language
(UIML) Implementation, which separates an
application's functions from its User Interface. The
UIML 2.0 specification, which is available at the UIML
web site, "www.uiml.org", is "fully XML compliant"
("http://www.uiml.org/specs/UIML2/specification.html";).
The ultimate goal of the Ocularis' UIML Implementation
subproject is to aid developers in making their
pre-existing or new applications easily and freely
accessible in a wide variety of interfaces, including
in the form of an Audio User Interface (AUI).
Details about Ocularis:
The computing enviroment and suite of
applications that are the goal of Ocularis will be
free software (see "www.gnu.org" for a definition of
free software) and will be based on Linux. The basic
applications that Ocularis will possess are a word
processor, calendar, calculator, basic accounting or
finance application, file manager, Internet browser,
and e-mail client. All of these programs will run
smoothly on computers consisting of commonly available
hardware costing less than $500 that can be bought at
almost any local computer store. In comparison to
current adaptive technology, this is both a drastic
price drop and an increase in the availability of the
required hardware.
Ocularis was started in response to research
on current adaptive technology, which culminated in
the editorial "The Potential of Open Source for the
Visually Impaired" (available at the Ocularis web
site). The project is run and the software is
developed completely by volunteers. If you would like
to become involved in Project Ocularis, there are many
areas (not pertaining to programming or technology) in
which we would greatly appreciate assistance. We
would be similarly grateful if you could help spread
the word about Ocularis or could forward this message
to someone who might be interested in the project.
For more information, please visit the Ocularis web
site, "http://ocularis.sourceforge.net/";, or contact
me directly. Thank you very much.
--JP Schnapper-Casteras
jpsc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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