Actually, I like to have a rather inclusive Kernel out of the box. Then, the feature I need at any given time is likely already in place, without having to do a lot of compiling/patching/whatever to the Kernel. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Adam Myrow" <myrow@xxxxxxxxxx> To: <speakup at braille.uwo.ca> Sent: Saturday, September 28, 2002 6:38 PM Subject: Re: red hat 8.0 and the Speakup Modified > On Sat, 28 Sep 2002, Bear in SFO wrote: > > > > > Excuse my ignorance but how does that (having Speakup in the kernel or not) > > affect a sighted user?! > > I suppose it depends. If you have compiled it with a default synthesizer > other than none, it will probe the serial ports if it's serial, possibly > pausing the machine for quite some time trying to find the synth. Also, > if you've compiled the keymap into the kernel, you would have your numeric > pad remapped even when Speakup isn't talking. Of course, the CVS version > has solved this particular issue enough that the keypad will still type > numbers when numlock is pressed, and since the CVS version is required for > kernel 2.4.19 and newer, it is likely the one in Redhat. Lastly, > including all the synthesizer drivers would make the kernel a bit larger > than normal. However, it doesn't surprise me that Redhat would include > Speakup in the stock kernel. One of the things I dislike about Redhat is > that they always use some sort of patched kernel. It is flat impossible, > as far as I know, to tell what patches have been applied to the Redhat > kernel when you install. For example, EXT3 was available in Redhat long > before it was considered ready for production. I think it was in kernel > 2.4.7, and it didn't even show up in stock kernels until 2.4.15. When I > tried to build a Redhat kernel once, there were numerous options I've > never seen. My belief is that a production system should use the fewest > patches to the kernel that are needed to get the job done. With > Slackware, unless you explicitly choose a kernel with the Speakup patch, > you get a kernel produced from a stock source. Actually, there are a few > patched kernels besides the Speakup ones, but reading the documentation, > you will know what was patched and why and can even download the patch if > desired. The point is, you know exactly what you are getting. > > Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see Redhat include Speakup, but I just > wish they wouldn't be concerned about marketing to the point that they > sacrifice compatibility. As another example, Redhat 8 will use gcc > 3.0.2, and Slackware is still beta testing the version 9 which also uses > the newer gcc. It will likely be a long time before we see other > distributions start shipping with gcc 3.0.2, but Redhat is jumping the gun > to make themselves up to date. We'll see how it goes. > > > > _______________________________________________ > Speakup mailing list > Speakup at braille.uwo.ca > http://speech.braille.uwo.ca/mailman/listinfo/speakup
