Begin work on installing Fedora and other pages for accessibility.

This commit is contained in:
Devin Prater 2021-08-01 21:31:45 -05:00 committed by Ankur Sinha (Ankur Sinha Gmail)
parent b91e0aab23
commit 93c9b8c2ef
No known key found for this signature in database
GPG key ID: F8D8C0BEBAC898BD
4 changed files with 135 additions and 0 deletions

View file

@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
= Getting Started After Installing with Orca

View file

@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
= Installing Fedora with Orca
Thanks for choosing to install Fedora. The first thing you'll need to
do is put an installer onto a removable disk, like a DVD or Flash
Drive. For maximum accessibility, choose Fedora's Mate spin, found at
https://spins.fedoraproject.org/mate-compiz/download/index.html(The
Fedora Mate download page). Follow a normal guide on flashing the
downloaded image to a flash drive or DVD, and prepare to restart the
computer to begin the installation.
To install Fedora Mate, hereafter referred to as just "Fedora", you'll
need to start your computer with the installer's drive set as the
drive the computer starts from. Consult your computer's manual for how
to do this, but it is usually done by pressing the power button while
the computer is still turned off, then quickly pressing a key, like
F2, F8, F10, or F12, rapidly until the "boot manager" appears.
You'll need either sighted assistance, or an app on a smart phone that
continuously reads text (like Seeing AI on the Apple App Store, or
Google Lookout from the Google Play store), in order to somewhat know
what's on the screen of this menu. If you have no other drives, local
or network, connected to the computer, you may be able to press Down
arrow or Right arrow several times to get to the last item of the
menu, which should be your external drive, and press Enter to boot
from it.
Now, with the continuous text scanner still on, you'll be in a menu
for starting the installer. Pressing Enter should start it. Leave the
continuous text scanning on until you hear the current date. Now, you
can put down the phone; we won't need it anymore for the installation.
Now, you are at the live installation screen, where you can enable
Orca, the screen reader. To do this, hold down the Alt key, the
Windows key (which in Linux is called the Super key), and press the S
key, releasing all keys afterwards. You'll hear "screen reader on", in
a robotic, British voice.

View file

@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
= Installing Fedora with Orca

View file

@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
= Why Choose Fedora Linux?
As other, proprietary, computer operating systems (OS) decline in
accessibility, or fail to move forward on lofty promises, people with
disabilities may begin looking for an alternative, particularly as
computers that are more than three years old suddenly will not be
supported by an OS upgrade. Many people with disabilities do not have
a steady income, or cannot afford to spend the money they *do* have on
a new computer just to keep their system current, secure, and
future-proof.
Linux is a great option for many people to give computers, old and
new, a much longer lifespan, with security based on Linux's years of
real-world usage, and many great packages. Linux comes in many
different "flavors," called "distributions." These distributions set
the ground rules for your system, and many exist for many different
types of people and situations.
Linux distributions, however, aren't always friendly to people with
disabilities, particularly those that are blind or low-vision. From
live images, for installation of the system, that do not include a
screen reader, to desktop environments that are hard to use, Linux can
be a struggle to use, and even more of one to enjoy.
There are currently
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux_distribution[almost 1000] Linux
distributions in the world. Out of all of those, why should a person
with disabilities choose Fedora? What sets it apart from all other
distributions, including ones specifically *made* for people with disabilities?
== Software is Current
Most importantly, Fedora has current software. While other
distributions pride themselves on "stability," Fedora has an
up-to-date set of accessibility tools, like Orca, for screen reading,
and BRLTTY, for using Braille Displays. Each release of Fedora is
followed by a steady stream of updates, keeping your system current
and secure. This is especially important for screen reader users, as
the Orca screen reader must evolve to work with the changes in both
programs on the system and on the web.
== Easy to Install
Fedora's installer is easy to use, accessible, and the live Image
comes with the Orca screen reader ready to start. Users of Windows or
MacOS will feel familiar with Orca and the installer, as keyboard
commands are similar. There is no command line interface to worry
about, or set of exotic keyboard commands to memorize.
== Learn and Improve
Fedora, like other Linux distributions, allows you to learn as you use
the system. At first, you can do anything you need from a graphical
interface. Then, as you learn and experiment, you may find that some
processes you do, like daily work activities, are quicker to do in the
terminal. Then, you may combine those typed lines in the terminal into
a file for even easier automation. Afterwards, you may begin to learn
to write code, and eventually, contribute to projects that interest
you, or even improve your desktop environment or Fedora itself. Fedora
allows this, whereas other operating systems hold you back from
learning what makes them tick, and improving them for everyone.
This is important for people with disabilities because it allows the
people who need the technology the most to not only use it, but learn
to control, fix, and improve it. No proprietary system would allow
that level of user-agency.
== A Welcoming Community
Fedora has a large and welcoming community. Whether you need help, or
want to help, the community is there. You can interact with them on
familiar Email lists or IRC. Distributions focused only on people with
disabilities often have very small communities, which means that
sometimes, new members don't get the help they need to stay on Linux,
since a smaller community means that no one may know the answer or fix
to a new member's problem.
== Analogous Technology
Below is a list of commonly used assistive technology on other
platforms, and its Linux equivalent. The Linux version may do roughly
the same functions as its counterparts, or do even more for the person
using it.
JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, TalkBack::
https://help.gnome.org/users/orca/stable/[Orca]
Braille Display drivers:: https://brltty.app[BRLTTY, an entire screen
reader for Braille displays, which also works with Orca.]
Recognize inaccessible text on the screen::
https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Ocrdesktop[OCR Desktop: an Arch
package that should be installable on Fedora]
DuxBerry or BrailleBlaster::
https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/cups-filters[Cups filters has
drivers for Braille Embossers to be used like regular printers]