Fabulous! Thanks for your very thorough and reassuring answer. Amanda Gaijin wrote: > Only installing a new kernel would do that, and only if the new > kernel didn't have SspeakUp support. Linux is a series of layers, and > the kernel is the foundation on which everything sits, so unless you tear > out that foundation, speakup will continue to work without a hitch. As > long as text is being sent to the console or text screen,, the kernel will > repeat that text to your voice synthesizer, and Debian goes out of it's > way not to break any of it's consoles. If you're going to possibly > break anything, it will be software speech synthesis in the GUI, which > isn't a text console, and redirects screen output a different way, as with > the Orca screen reader. Make a copy of your entire /etc directory, just > in case. The kernel will never be replaced unless secifically told to do > so, but Debian has an annoying habit of removing tons of packages just to > install something you thought you wanted to try out...like the the entire > X11 window system. Use aptitude, which has the option of cancelling an > operation you don't like. HTH, > > Michael