Don. Though I really want to learn what you have to teach, I don't want to become another burden on you. I will try to look up as much as I can then come back to you if I still don't understand. I'll start with presenting you with yes or no questions. (Smile).
1. You have repeatedly mentioned persistent storage. I found the following definition below, but am I correct in that it means information that is held in ram then disappears when computer is shut off? Web definitions for Persistent storage Persistence in computer science refers to the characteristic of state that outlives the process that created it. ... 2. Is the vinux wiki a reference to the tutorial link you provided? 3. Is the following process correct... I will have to create then load the Vinux operating system via a virtual machine in ram. Then create a bootable Cd of this image. then I will load this image before windows loads, and I can begin restoring my image created with Image for windows? 4. Will this be a one time thing, or will I have to go through this entire process whenever I add new hardware and such to my computer? Andre ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Marang" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 8:20 PM Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] Questions about Linux Well, you are not in danger of learning something antiquated here! Both Vinux 3.0 and Vinux 3.1 are just at the start of their supported life cycles. Yes, a USB Flash drive is nicer in my view because it is faster than a DVD and can have persistent storage. I preferred to start with the instructions posted on the Vinux Wicky since I am familiar with Virtual Machines. I also prefer this method of preparing my custom backup ISO file because it can easily be burned to a DVD, used directly to create a USB Flash drive and stored away for later use. I attempt to maximize my available storage by pushing all of the newly installed packages into the squashed file system of the USB Flash drive. This is probably not necessary, and may not even effect performance? As I said earlier, it should be possible, to create a USB Flash drive using one of the Vinux DVD editions using the instructions contained within the Windows USB Creator program. Then the Image for Linux and the other Linux rescue packages can be installed into the persistent storage. This can probably be made to fit on a 4 GB Flash drive by specifying 2048 persistent storage. I normally have 8 GB Flash drives around and specify the maximum 4096 persistent storage. There is no way to create a DVD from this device, which can be nice for certain computers. There is also no way to keep a spare ISO file around to quickly replicate. However, it should be possible to backup the USB Flash drive. by just using the 'dd' command properly. When I get the time, I will attempt to generate similar instructions for directly creating a Vinux Rescue USB Flash drive. It would expand on the previous paragraph. When I use terminology not familiar to you, just call me on it with specifics, and I will attempt to expand on the topic in basic terms. I tend to shorten many explanations, since I only have one hand to type. This is especially true regarding articles on the Vinux Wicky. Don Marang There is just so much stuff in the world that, to me, is devoid of any real substance, value, and content that I just try to make sure that I am working on things that matter. Dean Kamen -------------------------------------------------- From: "Andre Williams" <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 10:34 PM To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] Questions about Linux > Don. Given this new information as compared to your post a few days ago, > which set of instructions should I pursue? I want to try this Vinux, but I > gotta say the lingo and obscure terminology is turning me away. I'm not > going to give up on it without giving it a shot, but there is so much > information that I don't know where to begin and I would hate to invest > tons > of time on the wrong choice or an obsolete version. I feel like I will end > up learning Windows 95 when I should really be seeking out information > relating to windows 7. I guess I'm asking for specifics in terms of what > to > begin reading. Because Thumb drives can be red much faster than DVD disks, > I'm thinking I should focus my efforts in installing Vinux on a thumb > drive. > Andre > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Don Marang" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 7:00 PM > Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] Questions about Linux > > > I use Vinux. They just announced Vinux 3.1, based on the latest Ubuntu > 10.1. It is available free at vinux.org.uk and it's mirrors. You can > download either the CD or DVD ISO files and burn to a disk. There is now > a > Quick Start Guide on the web site and the DVD edition. Just insert the > disk > and startup the computer. It can perform as a full featured Linux > Operating > System from the disk. This works well for emergency situations and also > lets you test drive Linux. Of course, installing Vinux on a USB Flash > drive, Virtual Machine, or on your hard drive will provide increasingly > better performance. > > Everything is accessible from the start in terms of boot, login and > installation. Vinux uses the Orca screen reader in the gnome desktop, > SpeakUp when in one of the consoles, 2 magnifiers, and even a backup > screen > reader. Most of the gnome gtk applications are accessible to some extent. > Applications like gimp. a drawing program, is not very accessible. > Thunderbird works well and Firefox is the default browser. To me, the > current version of Firefox seems sluggish with Orca right now. This is > one > area that needs work. There are even text only browsers like links, that > are very responsive. Of course, most command line and emacs applications > are accessible. > > Give it a test drive, it is free, powerful, and although not perfect, it > is > rapidly improving and we have the source to fix issues. > > Don Marang > > There is just so much stuff in the world that, to me, is devoid of any > real > substance, value, and content that I just try to make sure that I am > working > on things that matter. > Dean Kamen > > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "Arianna" <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, December 10, 2010 3:48 PM > To: <[email protected]> > Subject: [Blind-Computing] Questions about Linux > >> `I am aware that some blind people are using Linux, so if any of you >> Linux >> users could answer some of my questions, I'd be grateful. >> >> What applications can be used with Linux? What is the name of the >> screenreader that works with it? Does it have an internet browser, an >> email program? >> >> Thanks for any help. >> >> Arianna >> For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: >> http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ >> > > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: > http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ > > > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: > http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ > For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/ For answers to frequently asked questions about this list visit: http://www.jaws-users.com/help/
