I believe the reason there's no Orca on Linux is because the UI layer on Android is based on Java, whereas Orca is a GNOME/GTK application. So, yes, they both have Linux under the hood; but that's about the extent of the similarity. PS: Also lacking on Android is screen reader access to anything terminal based. Talkback, being Java based and object oriented, isn't likely ever to support terminal applications on Android. Yet, quite a few users would love to bring up a bash prompt on their Android devices, especially to ssh out to an external Linux. Sp[eakup is unlikely to work well for that, as Google's Linux kernel seems pretty specific to what they consider important, vis a vis supporting all Linux kernel modules. Perhaps when Speakup finally exists Staging and becomes part of the Linux kernel, this may be an option. Far more practical, imo, is Fenrir. I have sometimes thought of putting together an Android build environment to see whether I could get Fenrir to run on Android--but I'd be perfectly happy should someone else get there first! <smile> Best, Janina Linux for blind general discussion writes: > I've been doing some web crawling, trying to get an idea of the prospects > for a blind-accessible, (mostly) open source OS for Android HW devices. > > The rest of this message is a mishmash of links and notes; if anyone can > provide additions and corrections, I'd be most grateful... > > -r > > # Availability > > The Android application package (APK) is the Golden Path for distribution, > but some Google Play apps aren't available to "rooted" Android phones: > > SafetyNet Explained: Why Android Pay and Other Apps Don’t Work on Rooted Devices > https://www.howtogeek.com/241012 > > It would be nice to have a Linux-friendly tool (e.g., APT) as an alternative. > Meanwhile, some packages are available via microG (https://microg.org). > > # Accessibility > > ## Android > > The Golden Path for a11y seems to be the Android Accessibility Suite, available > on the Google Play Store: > > https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.marvin.talkback > > More general information is available on the Android accessibility overview page: > > https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6006564?hl=en > > ## Celia > > This seems interesting, even though it (currently) only supports Chinese. > However, it (and EMUI) are proprietary. > > > Celia is an artificially intelligent virtual assistant developed by Huawei > for its latest Android-based EMUI smartphones that lack Google Services > and a Google Assistant. > > -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia_(Virtual_assistant) > > ## Screen Readers, etc. > > TalkBack and BrailleBack (both found in the Android Accessibility Suite) > seem to be the Golden Path for blind-friendly Android support. > > Despite this title, there doesn't appear to be any APK version of Orca: > > Orca Download for Linux (apk, deb, eopkg, rpm, tgz, txz, xz, zst) > https://pkgs.org/download/orca > > More generally, I can't find any open source screen readers listed for APK: > > Search Results for "screen reader" > https://pkgs.org/search/?q=%22screen%20reader%22 > > # OS Family Tree > > TL;DR: There are lots of (all or mostly) free OS variants, but their a11y > support is extremely limited. Also, many of them are only intended to be > used on a single vendor's devices. > > Anyway, here is an OS family tree of sorts, with informational links. > It's based on Wikipedia's "List of custom Android distributions" > (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_custom_Android_distributions), > supplemented with information gleaned from assorted web sites (YMMV). > > Linux - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_kernel > - AOSP - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)#AOSP > - - ConquerOS - https://github.com/ConquerOS/manifest > - - CopperheadOS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CopperheadOS > - - CyanogenMod - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CyanogenMod > - - - LineageOS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LineageOS > - - - - CrDroid - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrDroid > - - - - Project Sakura - https://sourceforge.net/projects/projectsakura/files/Mido > - - - - Replicant - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replicant_(operating_system) > - - - - - /e/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki//e/_(operating_system) > - - DerpFest - https://derpfest.org > - - Emteria.OS - https://emteria.com > - - EMUI - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMUI > - - EvolutionX - https://evolution-x.org/# > - - Flyme - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meizu#Flyme > - - GrapheneOS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GrapheneOS > - - GSI - https://source.android.com/setup/build/gsi > - - Havoc-OS - https://sourceforge.net/projects/havoc-os > - - Ion OS - https://sourceforge.net/projects/i-o-n > - - MoKee - https://download.mokeedev.com > - - MIUI - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIUI > - - MSM-Xtended - https://sourceforge.net/projects/xtended > - - OmniROM - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OmniROM > - - OxygenOS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OxygenOS > - - Paranoid Android - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoid_Android_(software) > - - Pixel Experience - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_Experience > - - Realme - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Realme > - - Smartisan OS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smartisan_OS > - - ViperOS - https://download.viperos.org/# > > # Starting Points > > My suspicion is that the LineageOS, Replicant, and /e/ flavors are the > most promising starting points, but I could certainly be wrong. If you > know of something you think is better, please let me know! > > Speaking of which, the definition of "better" is very context-dependent. > If avoiding any and all proprietary software is your goal, Replicant may > be the best choice. If you want instant gratification, you might want > to purchase a phone that already has /e/ installed... > > Also, if you're only using Wi-Fi for connectivity, you can ignore some > cell phone issues (e.g., CDMA, FDMA, and TDMA signal encoding). > > ## Replicant > > - https://replicant.us/ > - https://replicant.us/about.php#faq > - https://replicant.us/freedom-privacy-security-issues.php > - https://replicant.us/supported-devices.php > > - https://redmine.replicant.us/projects/replicant/wiki/DeviceStatus > > ## LineageOS > > - https://lineageos.org > - https://lineageos.org/blog > - https://wiki.lineageos.org > - https://wiki.lineageos.org/faq.html > > ## /e/ > > - https://doc.e.foundation/devices/ > - https://doc.e.foundation/what-s-e > > - https://e.foundation > - https://e.foundation/about-e > - https://e.foundation/about-e/#why-/e/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Blinux-list mailing list > Blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list -- Janina Sajka Linux Foundation Fellow Executive Chair, Accessibility Workgroup: http://a11y.org The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Chair, Accessible Platform Architectures http://www.w3.org/wai/apa _______________________________________________ Blinux-list mailing list Blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list