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96 lines
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96 lines
4.5 KiB
Text
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= Why Choose Fedora Linux?
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As other, proprietary, computer operating systems (OS) decline in
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accessibility, or fail to move forward on lofty promises, people with
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disabilities may begin looking for an alternative, particularly as
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computers that are more than three years old suddenly will not be
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supported by an OS upgrade. Many people with disabilities do not have
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a steady income, or cannot afford to spend the money they *do* have on
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a new computer just to keep their system current, secure, and
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future-proof.
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Linux is a great option for many people to give computers, old and
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new, a much longer lifespan, with security based on Linux's years of
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real-world usage, and many great packages. Linux comes in many
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different "flavors," called "distributions." These distributions set
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the ground rules for your system, and many exist for many different
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types of people and situations.
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Linux distributions, however, aren't always friendly to people with
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disabilities, particularly those that are blind or low-vision. From
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live images, for installation of the system, that do not include a
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screen reader, to desktop environments that are hard to use, Linux can
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be a struggle to use, and even more of one to enjoy.
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There are currently
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution[almost 1000] Linux
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distributions in the world. Out of all of those, why should a person
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with disabilities choose Fedora? What sets it apart from all other
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distributions, including ones specifically *made* for people with disabilities?
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== Software is Current
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Most importantly, Fedora has current software. While other
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distributions pride themselves on "stability," Fedora has an
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up-to-date set of accessibility tools, like Orca, for screen reading,
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and BRLTTY, for using Braille Displays. Each release of Fedora is
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followed by a steady stream of updates, keeping your system current
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and secure. This is especially important for screen reader users, as
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the Orca screen reader must evolve to work with the changes in both
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programs on the system and on the web.
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== Easy to Install
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Fedora's installer is easy to use, accessible, and the live Image
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comes with the Orca screen reader ready to start. Users of Windows or
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MacOS will feel familiar with Orca and the installer, as keyboard
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commands are similar. There is no command line interface to worry
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about, or set of exotic keyboard commands to memorize.
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== Learn and Improve
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Fedora, like other Linux distributions, allows you to learn as you use
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the system. At first, you can do anything you need from a graphical
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interface. Then, as you learn and experiment, you may find that some
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processes you do, like daily work activities, are quicker to do in the
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terminal. Then, you may combine those typed lines in the terminal into
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a file for even easier automation. Afterwards, you may begin to learn
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to write code, and eventually, contribute to projects that interest
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you, or even improve your desktop environment or Fedora itself. Fedora
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allows this, whereas other operating systems hold you back from
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learning what makes them tick, and improving them for everyone.
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This is important for people with disabilities because it allows the
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people who need the technology the most to not only use it, but learn
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to control, fix, and improve it. No proprietary system would allow
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that level of user-agency.
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== A Welcoming Community
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Fedora has a large and welcoming community. Whether you need help, or
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want to help, the community is there. You can interact with them on
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familiar Email lists or IRC. Distributions focused only on people with
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disabilities often have very small communities, which means that
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sometimes, new members don't get the help they need to stay on Linux,
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since a smaller community means that no one may know the answer or fix
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to a new member's problem.
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== Analogous Technology
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Below is a list of commonly used assistive technology on other
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platforms, and its Linux equivalent. The Linux version may do roughly
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the same functions as its counterparts, or do even more for the person
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using it.
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JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack::
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https://help.gnome.org/users/orca/stable/[Orca]
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Braille Display drivers:: https://brltty.app[BRLTTY, an entire screen
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reader for Braille displays, which also works with Orca.]
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Recognize inaccessible text on the screen::
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https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Ocrdesktop[OCR Desktop: an Arch
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package that should be installable on Fedora]
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DuxBerry or BrailleBlaster::
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https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/cups-filters[Cups filters has
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drivers for Braille Embossers to be used like regular printers]
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