Hi all. I agree with you completely Thomas, while I agree in principal with the both of you that linux is a very attractive option for some, in fact I am investigating the possibility of setting up a spare box I have here using vinux, many though certainly not all linux users tend to come off with a kind of superior or arrogant attitude that tends to drive people, particularly newbies away. This is unfortunate as it will further limit the number of people willing to put the time and effort into learning it. This brings me to my other point, while yes in theory everything should work and you have a completely accessible system from the getgo, the getting there is not easy in the slightest for a blind user, the learning curve is quite frankly pretty horrendous and unless this changes then the situation of people not wanting to use it and considering it just another thing that the nerds and geeks like to play with is going to remain the same.
I know you and I have discussed some of this before, as an access tech instructor I have to keep up with the latest greatest windows crap whether I like it or not because I can gripe all I want but that is where the money is and that's where it is going to stay. 99% of my clients want to learn windows, they are not interested in learning anything else, I have had a couple ask about the mac but unfortunately not enough for me to justify going out and spending the money to get one. I've actually mentioned Linux recently to a couple of clients who I thought might be able to handle it, I told them the good points that it is free and that the accessability while maybe not quite up to the standards of the latest greatest Jaws or hal is free and pretty universal. I also was honest and told them of what I consider to be some obstacles that the learning curve is fairly steep and that you have to sometimes go through quite a few hoops to get something that seems fairly simple to work right. Unfortunately there has been no interest as yet, this is partly why I've not put more time and effort into getting a box going myself. Well I think I've gone on about this long enough we're kinda straying far afield from gaming so I will end now. Tom -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Thomas Ward Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 12:57 PM To: Gamers Discussion list Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Consoles (was Re: my frustration with the blindgaming comunity.) Hi Michael, Michael wrote: Eventually you guys are gonna wake up and smell the roses and realize that Linux is the only market out there that's even trying to make their system fully accessible. My reply: Well, as an avid Linux user myself I do agree with you that in terms of low-cost accessibility Linux is the way to go. However, I would not go as far to say it is the only market or operating system that is trying to make their operating system fully accessible. I have used several different operating systems, and most of the Unix-based operating systems FreeBSD, Linux, Solaris, have fairly decent accessibility right out of the box. Of course, Solaris is primarily for businesses, but there is no reason you couldn't use it at home on a PC. Same goes for FreeBSD. I've actually used a Solaris workstation via the Gnome desktop, Orca screen reader, and in terms of accessible apps it has pretty much everything Linux has. The Sun Java desktop and Staroffice Sweit makes it a great business platform, and it is certainly possible to get accessible multimedia software too. <rest of long message snipped> --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
