Hi: Well there is definitely no way to start speakup any later than it does, it's in the kernel so it starts when the kernel does. It might be possible to use such a converter *if* speakup can try to find the device later into the boot process (say with insert-enter) and if the speakup synth drivers see the serial port on a USB-to-serial converter the same way as they see a standard port. I'm not certain about the insert-enter thing, but I'm pretty sure that the speakup serial drivers are too low-level to use a USB serial port asis. You'd need some kind of a rewrite for this, and I don't know how extensive it would have to be. Geoff.
