Could that have been Bill Acker? > On Jun 14, 2020, at 1:09 PM, Linux for blind general discussion <blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > Hi, I’m passing this along to a blind and Arctic person. She runs android discuss a mailing list. I’ve already sent her a private note that essentially said this. About Lenox. I in an extremely small way mentioned to her that one of the list members in fact the person I’m responding to and I met vicariously through a late amateur radio operator. Who lived in Denver taught me a lot that I know of X. I was just sitting here getting about the past briefly. I said to the final vote that person is no longer with us. He is certainly not forgotten. Be well everyone. > > Sincerely Maurice Mines. > >> On Jun 14, 2020, at 10:35, Linux for blind general discussion <blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: >> >> 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 > > > _______________________________________________ > Blinux-list mailing list > Blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx > https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list _______________________________________________ Blinux-list mailing list Blinux-list@xxxxxxxxxx https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/blinux-list