My opinion is that Linux is a much better operating system than Windows but it takes a lot more effort to get it working than Windows. You can install Windows and JAWS, accept all the defaults, and be up and running in about an hour. That is not going to be the case with Linux. With Linux, you pretty much have to read the instructions. And even if you do, there may be things about your installation that need some tweeking to work. If you take the time to learn Linux, you'll find that it's much more powerful than even Windows 2000. But you may not need the extra features of Linux. Things like dialing into the internet, using a word processor, balancing your checkbook are probably easier in Windows than in Linux. But linux makes a much better file server or web server than Windows. Another thing to consider is that if you learn how to use Linux you may be able to help other blind people in your country use Linux. Linux and emacspeak are free. Windows & JAWS cost hundreds of dollars. This may not apply to you since you already have JAWS but you may be able to help other blind people in your area get a speech enabled computer for practically nothing with Linux. At 11:30 AM 12/2/01 +0100, you wrote: >Hi Saqib, >I'm delighted of the fact that you and few other members of the list >answered me practically at once. >Thank you for that! >Now questions: >You wrote: >1. Do you only use a Braille display, or do you use speech also? If so, >which speech synthesiser do you have? >>Marijan: At the moment I have only desktop machine (Celeron processor >>Pentium 3 633MHz overclocked to 750MHz, 128MB RAM, 20GB hdd( with sound >>Blaster live 1024 and the oldest Tieman's Braille display with 40+5 cells >>named Keybraille (the predecessor of Combibraille). But just now I am in >>the market for Toshiba satellite 2800-600 laptop, Alva Satellite 544 >>portable and JFW 4.0 or 4.1, depending on the time when I'll pay. At the >>moment I don't think about buying of hardware speech synthesizer. >> >>You wrote: >>2. How much computing knowledge do you have? >>Marijan: It's so clear, I am not a programmer at all, I didn't learn JAWS >>scripting language yet but I use JFW and other applications I need very >>easily. In the nearest future I plan to learn more about HTML and how to >>make the web sites. Of course, it's very small piece of knowledge but >>until now I had no chance to learn more because in my country I was the >>first blind man who bought a computer and started to use it. >> >>You wrote: >>3. What sort of things do you want to use Linux for? >>Marijan: As a radio journalist I have to use text-processor to write my >>articles (I prefer WordPerfect but I use Word also); OCR programme to >>recognize the printed materials I need (I just installed Fine reader 5.0 >>trial which recognize Cyrillic);and sound editor like Sound forge witch I >>like it very much. >>I am sorry but I don't know what I should expect of Linux. I have heard >>that Linux is much more stable then Windows but I don't know if there are >>the applications I mentioned above. >>Anyway, I'd like to try it and see what is better. >>BTW, which version of Linux allows me to start a Windows apps from within >>the Linux? >>Thank you very much for your effort to help me, indeed! >>Sorry for my pegen English. >>Sincerely, >>Marijan >> >>> -- John G. Heim WiscINFO Customer Service Coordinator Division of Information Technology jheim@doit.wisc.edu 608-262-9887