Linux and windows blind end user Jonathan Mozen offers his insight on the
increased interest by some blind persons in Linux.  You may know of
Jonathan as host of the Main Menu technology magazine on ACB radio.

Kelly


From: "Jonathan Mosen" <[log in to unmask]>

I find this Linux command-line revival really bizarre. With the quality
of Windows screen readers, Windows has opened access to the world of the
PC to blind people who aren't super-techy types. Give me the ability to
tap the ALT key and explore a menu bar in a new application over cryptic
and often huge command line sequences. Give me the ability to select a
file just by pressing the first couple of letters of its name. Give me a
nice dialogue box full of configuration options with check boxes and
radio buttons rather than a file with a long name that you must edit
just so with a text editor that has wacky command sequences. It's also
worth observing that most of the sighted people I know who are using
Linux are running X-Windows, which is a windows-like graphical user
interface that to the best of my knowledge is still out of our reach.

One of the things I am desperate to do is have a face-off with a good
Linux user on the web. I am sure that I could demonstrate that a blind
person using JFW or Windoweyes with Internet Explorer is much more
efficient surfing the web and getting to the information they need than
a Lynx user. This is even more the case now with the new version of
JAWS, which offers excellent header navigation and the speaking of
access keys. Plus, many pages that work perfectly well in IE just ain't
gonna do anything useful in Lynx. Lynx doesn't know about JAVAscript.

And talk to a Linux user about many of the tasks we zip through in
Windows daily, like word processing, sound editing, CD ripping etc. Most
have to admit they load Windows for those things.

Obviously Linux is a great option for some, particularly those who like
going deep under the hood and who have a memory for command lines. But
I'd go as far as saying that for the majority, they'd be horrified if
they found out what a Linux prompt is really like. And I speak as
someone who has used DOS since 1984 and Linux on and off. Linux seems to
be a bit trendy just now, but I'm proud of what we can do in Windows and
how it has empowered so many of us in a way that Linux never could.

Jonathan Mosen:
E-mail and MSN Messenger: [log in to unmask]
Work Phone: +64-6-348-8127
Mobile: +64-27-22Mosen (+64-27-226-6736)


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