Jennifer wrote: > Hey. I'm new to the list and fairly new to Linux. > I've never re-compiled a kernel in my life but really want to be able to get > messages from boot up to shutdown. I want to do this for a version of Ubuntu > optimized for NetBooks. I currently have no hardware synthesizer, > is this necessary in order to achieve speech output? If you don't have a hardware synthesizer, there is no advantage to compiling Speakup into your kernel. Just load the modules. As Greg said, there are packages available for Ubuntu. When using a software synthesizer, you get speech when all of your other system services start. Peace, -- Chris