At 07:40 AM 1/24/02 -0500, you wrote: >we call it. My view is that if we can get a robust Linux solution that >would allow blind folks to get real access to an inexpensive operating >system which we could use to do what we need and also to access the >Microsoft apps through emulators, then we really could go a long way to >creating a level playing field with a host of options rather than >constantly trying to catch up to main apps and forsaking the others. Not Hello. I think I am coming in late on this thread, but your comments interested me. I would like nothing better than to have a workable Linux solution which allows me to get everything done which I use Windows for now. However, I just do not see this as realistic, regardless of available resources. As much as I would like to criticize Mr Mosen's comments, he is mostly right. There are two things here which are going to be stumbling blocks. I write from my own experience with using LInux. One is that emulators are generally not accessible because of the GUI and different OS standards. What works one way in Linux does not work at all in Windows. PINE vs. PC-PINE is a good example. The standard "pine" is a good command line program which does everything with the keyboard. The Windows equivalent uses dialogues and the GUI for everything and does not even work with pop3. Another serious difference is between Lynx and IE. Lynx does not handle cookies correctly. Lynx does not do Java or javascript. Lynx knows nothing about Activex or being able to display images. IE is much slower and has far more security problems. IE crashes at the least opportune times. IE requires some form of MSAA implementation to be useful at all. With that said, I personally use Lynx for 95% of my surfing and only use IE when I have to. However, Lynx for win32 is vastly different than Lynx for Linux. Besides the win32 version being slower and having stability problems, (it randomly crashes sometimes) it does not handle cookies at all (it just throws them away on exit) and has no idea about handling multiple users. The other serious problem has nothing to do with the blind, but equally affects sighted. That is that Linux is still relatively new and is written by amateurs. I think the kernel does a very good job and the programmers are very, very good considering what there is to work with, but the fact of the matter is that new kernel versions are coming out constantly. It has not got to a point where it is stable enough that it can go for months without bug fixes, new drivers, general code tweaks, etc. You could argue that "I have been using 2.2.19 for months without any problem," or any other kernel version, but those are not the "latest" or "newest" kernels in most cases because they are updated too often. When I was actively running a Linux box, I was compiling a new kernel once a week or more. That was last summer. In a very short time, I went from kernel 2.2.19, 2.4.5, and ended up at 2.4.12. I never got 2.4.13 or higher to work. How, then, do you expect to break the MS monopoly when suddenly your kernel (assuming you use modules) is yanked out from under you because a new version came out? Sure you could do it like Speakup does now, but how often has it needed updates (I know of at least once, if not more) because it could not patch the latest kernel correctly? On the other hand, it amazes me how very stable Linux, Speakup, and the software is in general and I wish MS would learn from Linux. Obviously Microsoft has serious problems which they are in no hurry to address, but they have the funds to blow people off without a thought. The gnu project was established way back in the late 1970's or early 1980's. Their goal was to have a totally free OS. Years later they are just now seeing this reality. Therefore, it is unreasonable to expect overnight progress for the blind community. Things take time. In conclusion, I think that the days of Windows being dominant are coming to an end, but very slowly. If a majority of the blind appealed to screen reader manufacturers such as GW Micro and Freedom Scientific, they would move their focus to Linux. That has not happened either, and I would be surprised if it does for awhile. As Kirk W wrote, Linux is not for the masses. Personally, I would like to keep it that way. Emulators are still very much in their infancy. It will take years before that changes. Rather than trying to focus all our resources on an immediate solution, let us wit and take one step at a time. Too many other things need to happen before it can be a level playing field. Linux needs to grow up a little more, along with Speakup, the ODS and Windows emulators, and blind computer users. There are still the majority of the blind who prefer Windows and are not going to change yet. They could change if Linux was as accessible as Windows, but that is unreasonable for now. Sorry for my rambling. I really do like and prefer Linux (otherwise why would I be on the list?) but we must deal with the limitations facing us. Please feel free to correct my impressions if they are wrong, but no flames please. Thanks.
