Hi Bob and Andrew I agree with all Bob said, and it saved me saying it! But another thing to consider is that if you are at school or at work then what you use in that environment will not be Linux, and you'll have to learn to use two systems. Also, There are definitely more eeople around you who know Windows rather than who know Linux, so this could be a factor for some people. As bob said its really about what you use four computer for, and whether you're willing to learn a whole new system. Saqib -----Original Message----- From: speakup-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:speakup-bounces at braille.uwo.ca] On Behalf Of Bob Dodd Sent: 16 March 2004 11:54 To: Speakup is a screen review system for Linux. Subject: Re: linux Hi Andrew, Before you lauch into Linux in a big way, I think you need to consider *what* you use your PC for. If you're alreasy running Jaws, then you've probably made a major investment (Jaws is many things but it 'aint cheap...) and you need to think very carefully before throwing away all that money, and all the time you spent learning how to use Jaws. I don't mean to put you off Linux, I'm a great advocate of the operating system, but the switch to Linux can be quite a steep learning curve. What you will get with Linux+Speakup, at least if you can't read the screen at all, is a more accessible operating system than Windows. That's because Linux doesn't need a graphical user interface; everything can be done from the keyboard. But... all the applications are different. Also, unlike Windows, there are at least a dozen (free) tools that do the same job on Linux, and as a newbie, you'll probably need help choosing the best email program, word processor etc. from all those out there. Further, there are many books on, say, how to use Microsoft Word, but precious few about the equivalent applications used on Linux, so again the learning curve can be quite steep. So, before you move from Windows to Linux+Speakup, you need to decide what you want the PC to do for you, and which Linux applications you want to use (including which accessibility applications you want to use). Then you'll need help installing and setting up the box (maybe someone is doing this for you already?). Finally, you'll probably need to get onto the Usenet discussion groups about Linux and its applications to help you learn how to use them. /bob dodd
