On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 05:13:45PM -0500, JP Jamous wrote: > Where can I obtain instructions on how to download a copy of Linux and > install it along with Speak Up? I would appreciate any replies. Thank you. Basically, there two different "flavors" of Linux, depending on the software package management system. One is Redhat's RPM (Redhat's Package Manager), and another is dpkg (Debian's Package Manager). These package managers control how software is downloaded and/or installed on the system, either from CD, the net, or combinations of both. RPM pretty-much is all on it's own and can be found in the Fedora and commercial versions of Redhat Linux. dpkg is far more wide-spread, and can be found in Debian, Ubuntu, off-shoots like Arch linux, and GRML. In my personal opinion, I believe dpkg-based distributions to be the way things are going, and has the most popular support. Other contenders are Slackware and Gentoo, each with their own package managers. I don't know if they have any support outside of their own distributions. Redhat/Fedora appear to need a special disk to install withaccessibility support (correct me if I'm wrong) and from what I've seen, is supported by one person here. More widely supported flavors are Ubuntu and GRML and the newly constructed Arch linux, which are all dpkg-based. I myself, use Debian, believing it to be the most stable and widely supported distribution. While Debian doesn't ride the cutting edge with the others, it's usually rock steady, and eventually gets around to adding in the latest features once they've been hashed out by everyone else, after they've decided which direction we all should go. Downloading and installing linux is pretty much a snap. Just google whichever distribution you prefer for their installation images, burn it to disk, and fire up your computer with the CD in the drive. The websites and the disks themselves will have more specific instructions on the installation process, as it can vary from one distribution to the next. As a linux novice, I would probably go with Ubuntu, it being the most widely supported on the net, from what I've seen, and then specialize with one of the other distros like Arch linux or GRML. If you are blind, I would go with Arch Linux or GRML right from the start. Slackware's website has a beautiful manual called the "Slackbook" and I would read that to learn about the most commonly used linux commands. >From there, I would check out some of the stuff to be found at the "Linux Documentation Project" website, IRC chat groups on the irc.freenode.net server, and this and the Orca mailing lists. There's a lot to learn and assemble in your mind before it all becomes clear, and linux becomes worth using, but if you stick with the basics long enough, you'll soon find linux outperforming any other operating system out there, because *you* are the one in control of the machine. HTH, Michael
