This has been translated from German and discusses the rising credibly
of Linux as the next operating system of choice for blind persons.
kelly
URL: http://www.heise.de/ct/english/99/04/202/
heise online
c't 4/99, page 202
Frank Fremerey
To Feel and Hear the Computer
Blinux as a guide to new user interfaces
Working a computer without monitor? Most PC users could not imagine it
but for blind people this goes without saying: they feel the output of
a program with their fingertips on a character system or have a
synthetic voice read the screen content out loud. But missing visual
confirmation also demonstrates user interfaces from a new perspective
- and topics like acoustic navigation extend far beyond the blind user
group.
In Germany there are about 155 000 blind and 500 000 severely visually
disabled people with a remaining eyesight below five percent. About
6000 of the currently 10 000 employed blind people work with
computers, mainly in telecommunication (largely operators), in
logistics and as typists. About 220 blind computer users work as
programmers or DTV merchants, 410 academics encounter computers in
various areas. Presently about 14 000 blind children and youths are
going through education [3].
Appropriately equipped - Braille systems for tactile text output or
voice output that reads the screen content - computers extend the
communication possibilities of blind people. Documents can be scanned
and published over the computer. And besides access to online versions
of newspapers the Internet also opens new recreation and contact
possibilities to the blind allowing connections to other visually
disabled as well to people with normal eyesight (without any
disadvantages!).
Line for Line
Translation programs process the software data and convert the monitor
output in information that can be felt or heard. A few programs
integrate this conversion directly in the application; however,
usually screenreaders extract the screen content either from the
screen output of the application program (software solutions) or
directly from the graphics driver or the graphics card - without
interfering with running applications.
Hardware solutions accessing the graphics card directly only work with
old ISA graphics cards because no manufacturer is offering a PCI
solution so far. Occasionally the matching Braille systems can be
bought used quite cheap because of their incompatibility with Windows.
They actually are independent from any operating system: this allows
blind people to follow the boot process or to manipulate the BIOS
settings. Software solutions like JAWS under Windows (Job Access With
Speech [6]) that listen to the graphics driver are tightly coupled to
the operating system as well as graphics card and driver and thus are
usually purchased with a complete computer system.
Since a blind user discovers the screen content line for line he needs
hints about the relevance of the displayed information; only this way
he is able to differentiate menu entries from written text or error
messages.
Therefore Braille systems offer additional keys for status information
like attribute color or cursor position allowing navigation on the
screen. At prices between 10000 and 40000 Marks [1] they are almost
unaffordable for private use, however. Usually social welfare and
health insurance only cover the cost to offer blind people access to
regular jobs and education. Every Braille system needs its own driver.
This is also true for voice synthesizers; voice output can also be
done in software with a standard sound card.
The in technology and science often encountered mixture of English and
German text is difficult for voice output: English text is almost
unrecognizable if read with a German pronunciation database. Therefore
users who read Braille prefer the character lines. Pure voice output
also does not allow proof reading or programming.
Better without GUI
The instruction metaphors used by modern graphical user interfaces
like MacOS or Windows do not have any meaning for blind people - Icons
can neither be expressed in Braille nor read out. Graphical interfaces
are accessible to a certain degree with special software like JAWS for
Windows but instead of being helpful they usually resemble more of an
obstacle.
Accordingly blind computer users still favor the text oriented DOS.
But is does not offer any multitasking and only rudimentary network
functionality. Linux is a real alternative here: it has much greater
capabilities and is more comfortable while it can still be fully
operated from the command line.
Currently there are still text oriented console applications written
for Linux, while there is no development under DOS, hardly any
maintenance for existing software and new hardware is almost not
supported anymore. On top of that Linux is significantly more stable
and secure than DOS - in an appropriate configuration wrong inputs
under Linux do not trigger a crash or cause the destruction of the
system.
Advantage Open Source
Another advantage lies in the development model of Linux. Most Linux
programs are created as Open Source, meaning they are free and users
have access to the source code. Open Source developers also deal with
problems that affect only small user groups and work on solutions that
do not promise any commercial success. And the availability of the
source codes makes the adaptation of programs to special situations a
lot easier - like for example applications without a monitor.
Because PC Unix as well as most Linux applications are available from
the Internet for free, the money paid for the voice and Braille
adaptation JAWS - 3000 Marks for Windows 95/98, 5000 Marks for the NT
version - can instead be used to build a Linux based system including
hardware that uses voice navigation with a standard sound card. These
types of systems would be especially interesting for home users who
usually do not receive any subsidies.
Therefore it certainly makes sense to allow DOS users a gentle change
to Linux as the blind computer scientist Klaus-Peter Wegge suggests
(see interview). What is still missing is the verification that DOS
applications used by the blind run under the DOS emulation - including
Braille systems and voice output. And of course the hardware support
must be extended.
Alternative Linux
To improve Linux support for the blind Hans Zöbelein started to
connect and coordinate the already existing worldwide initiatives in
summer 1996. The hobby programmer from Munich founded a mailing list
that today has more than 250 members. The name of the project: Blinux
[2], combined from the words 'blind' and 'Linux'. So far the focus of
the work has been on collecting and further developing software that
allows blind people access to the Linux computer (also see the
following article and [4]).
But Zöbelein wants more: Blinux should become the first operating
system in the world that a blind user can install him/herself with
acoustic or Braille navigation. For this purpose he currently
negotiates with distributors about a special Blinux distribution
combining hardware detection with voice output and Braille driver.
The development of Blinux also addresses a series of topics that are
interesting beyond the group of visually disabled and blind. The
participants do ground work for the development of acoustic user
interfaces; the latter become necessary when the computer conquers
more and more areas of living where a monitor is not feasible - for
example wearable computers that can be controlled completely just by
voice input and acoustic navigation and could possibly read email to
the user while he/she is driving a car. The sectors OCR or hardware
detection also lead beyond Blinux.
However, in its current development stage Blinux does not quite yet
achieve the goal of making Linux accessible for the blind. For the
blind computer science student from Paderborn who was able to obtain
one of the few supported Braille systems fairly cheap, or the Emacs
fan who lost his eyesight as an adult, BRLTTY and Emacsspeak offer
mature solutions for accessing Linux and the Internet. But today there
are no standard retail solutions available for the general public yet.
(odi)
Literature
[1] Peter Röbke-Dörr, Braille & Co., PC-Hilfen für Blinde, c't 4/98,
S. 200,
[2] Blinux: http://leb.net/blinux/
[3] Deutscher Blinden- und Sehbehinderten-Verband, Bonn; Studies for
the year 1995
[4] Tips and software for blind Linux users:
http://www.uni-paderborn.de/cs/heiss/blinux/index-en.html
[6] JAWS: http://www.hj.com/
[7] Ultrasonix: http://henge1.henge.com/~brian/ultralin.html
Top of page
_________________________________________________________________
Interview with Klaus-Peter Wegge
The blind computer scientist Klaus-Peter Wegge works at C-Lab, a
research institute in Paderborn that is run by the University of
Paderborn and Siemens AG. In Linux he sees a chance for blind DOS
users to switch to a more modern operating system that is more
accommodating to access technologies like Braille and voice synthesis
systems because of its text based character. In cooperation with the
freelance programmer Thomas Thäle he is currently developing the
commercial screenreader UXDOTS for Linux that in comparison to the
Freeware system BRLTTY is supposed to feature significantly better
hardware support and offer more comfortable characteristics.
Together with an online service and newspaper offices he created an
Internet service that should allow blind and visually disabled people
uncomplicated access to information that is quite natural for people
who can see [5]. The software packet consists of GNU programs with
special adaptation for the target group and will be available under
Linux as well as under DOS for little money. WWW pages that utilize
SSL, Java or Javascript still remain inaccessible for now, however.
c't: For blind and visually disabled people who want to use a computer
hardware and software often is unaffordable and therefore they mostly
have access to it in connection with a job or education only. This
market is dominated by Windows software, however. How does Linux fit
into this picture?
Wegge: In professional life you cannot avoid Windows: A company that
is completely banking on Windows NT and wordprocessor XY will say that
the blind person must of course work with this system. Therefore I see
Linux mainly as an attractive alternative for private use and in the
university environment. But it could also be implemented at companies
where the focus in on the employee mastering his task well and
efficient and not so much on which tool he uses.
c't: Accessing the world of electronic data is already difficult
enough for a blind person, why should a blind user also have to learn
a niche operating system like Linux?
Wegge: Linux has the immense advantage that it possesses a clean
separation between the graphical interface and the actual operating
system and its text oriented presentation. This means: Today and
probably also for many more years Linux can be operated completely on
the console. A blind person is very capable of working with the
Braille system or voice output. Apart from that it currently is very
difficult to judge how this operating system is going to develop.
c't: Today many blind people still work with DOS because it has a text
oriented interface. How could this group be motivated to switch to
Linux?
Wegge: Many want more comfort than DOS offers. Linux is developed
continuously and the Internet enables excellent support as well as
contacts to people with the same interests. On top of that most DOS
programs - particularly those that have been used by blind people up
to now - also run in the DOS emulation of Linux. For the blind user
Linux actually means a step forward: For example it is very easy to
burn a CD or just open several windows. This is not so easy under the
good old DOS.
We want to allow the users of our adaptation a gentle switch. We
strive to support almost all Braille systems. But we need the
cooperation of the manufacturers and this does not always happen
seamlessly. Additionally Linux offers voice output and character
enlargement programs, so also a visually disabled person can work with
Linux very easily.
c't: Presently only a few software companies have commercial products
for Linux. What is your opinion on quality - for example for the voice
output software MBROLA?
Wegge: You will find a lot of high-quality software for Linux, and one
of them is this free voice output that I like using myself by the way
because the German language support developed at the university of
Bonn works very well.
c't: How do the programs developed by you compare to what is already
out there?
Wegge: The screenreader UXDOTS is a driver program that connects
Braille systems with the Unix operating system. Up to now similar
programs had a restricted functionality and only a few Braille systems
were supported. We extended the adaptation immensely. UXDOTS is now
capable of converting color attributes into Braille, meaning, the
Braille system will read: 'This line is now in color', and as a blind
person I can find out which color it is, if I need this information -
for example to check whether a menu entry is active or inactive.
I can define windows, I can search on the screen, and several video
modes are supported: For example I could set the screen to 132 times
60 characters. All these adaptation techniques also function across
the machine boundaries: A program that runs on a Sun under Solaris can
be managed with UXDOTS from a Linux computer over the network.
Additionally to an adapted lynx version (title: 'lynx++') our text
based Internet software also contains service programs that allow a
blind person to use the Internet and all its basic services: EMail,
news and chat.
c't: What are the chances of realizing an affordable EDP solution for
blind and visually disabled people with Linux? Are not the costs for
Braille covered by social welfare or health insurance anyway?
Wegge: In the private sector subsidy is always a difficult topic. It
would be very interesting to present somewhat affordable solutions,
but one thing must be said very clearly: The main cost factor with a
computer solution is always the Braille system - a small Braille
system costs about 10000 Marks, a large comfort system about 35000 to
40000 Marks. The idea behind our adaptation is also to support older
systems that a private user might purchase used. A recent court ruling
that forced a health insurance to cover the costs for a 40 Braille
system cannot be easily transferred to other cases in my opinion. We
will have to wait and see what happens in the future.
c't: Why are these systems so expensive?
Wegge: The main reason is that the mechanics are very sensitive and
need to function very precisely. Just imagine one dot is stuck -
immediately the telephone number is wrong and I am not calling my
girlfriend but someone else. The setting of the dots must work many,
many million times. These are extensive custom-made systems in very
small quantities which leads to the exorbitant price. (Frank
Fremerey/odi)
Top of page
_________________________________________________________________
Blinux in Practice
Last year in November we sent out a survey about Blinux to different
mailing lists of blind Internet users. The questionnaire should have
reached a total of about 500 individuals and most of them will
probably have heard about Blinux for the first time. By the time of
going to press we had received 36 completed questionnaires from all
over the world. Of course this is not a representative survey;
however, the results offer an impression about how Blinux users handle
the existing solutions.
More than half of the Blinux users are computer experts (20) between
19 and 54 years old. On average they have nine years experience with
DOS, three years with Windows and five years with the Internet. 80
percent speak English and are blind; visually disabled German speaking
users are in the minority. Almost all of them use the computer at work
and at home. In the two years of Blinux existence Emacspeak became the
most popular application: From the 15 questioned users who tested the
program eleven are still using it.
None of the Blinux users who filled out our survey works with Blinux
exclusively. Among the other programs used besides Blinux were DOS
drivers for the different Braille systems and hardware voice output
applications. With ten nominations the Windows adaptation JAWS was the
most widely used single application.
Apart from Linux all survey participants are still using DOS or
Windows solutions because there is no reading automate or modern
Internet browser with SSL, Java and Javascript function for the Linux
command line yet. On top of that the hardware support for Blinux still
is very sketchy therefore four participants operate their Linux via
DOS terminal; others wanted to wait until Blinux offers support for
their hardware. Among the Blinux developers are many Linux freaks with
full vision who are trying to make Linux more accessible for friends
and acquaintances.
Wish List
A voice controlled Linux installation with robust hardware detection
is at the top of the wish list for Blinux users. An alternative would
be a RPM archive allowing access to an already installed Linux for
visually disabled - similar to how JAWS, the market leader of
screenreaders under Windows [6], is based on multimedia interfaces of
an installed Windows. It follows the demand for extended hardware
support. A Braille/voice interface to the X-Window system is also
still missing. Even though such an interface exists (Ultrasonix [7], a
ported version of the X-Window access software Mercator for Solaris;
two of the survey participants used it with Applixware Office and
Netscape Communicator), it does not seem to be known and stable enough
yet to generate interest in a larger group of users. It also works
only with a few hardware synthesizers.
Top of page
_________________________________________________________________
Hasan Karahasan
Installing Linux - Experiences of a Blind User
Blind computer users depend on additional devices like voice
synthesizer or Braille systems that are fed with the necessary
information by operating system dependent drivers. Therefore it is
always difficult for blind people to install an operating system: Only
when the system is up and running the access software can be
installed; during the installation process a blind user does not have
any access to the screen output. These problems are often brought up
as an argument against Linux for blind people; it is overlooked,
however, that this is true for all operating systems.
Some manufacturers of Braille systems are offering so-called hardware
solutions where a special card sends the screen content to the system.
These cards are completely transparent for the operating system but
function only in text mode. Because the text mode has lost its
importance in the Windows world, newer Braille systems are not
intended for a hardware connection anymore. But such a Braille system
is very suitable for installation on a computer running in text mode.
First I searched the Internet for a guide on loading and installing
Linux from the net. http://visar.csustan.edu/giveaway_dl.html
describes the method for all important distributions. After deciding
on SuSE all necessary packets could be downloaded from the net. I had
to create the boot disc under DOS; after booting everything is
actually quite self-explanatory. As soon as the installation program
Yast is started hardly anything can go wrong anymore.
What goes for others is of course also true for blind Linux users: The
better informed the user is the less surprises he will encounter. I
prepared for Linux by reading the SuSE installation guide and the
Linux user guide by Sebastian Hetze.
Under DOS and Windows I use my computers mainly for the Internet,
simple wordprocessing, creating of CD-ROMs, OCR and similar stuff. At
the moment I work with Linux to learn more about the Unix world and
for programming. I would like to migrate other application areas to
Linux in the near term. Up to now I only work with the Braille system;
but I read about different control programs for voice output in the
Blinux project that I am going to test soon.
Because only a few possess a hardware Braille system we should think
about other possibilities for allowing blind people to install Linux.
The original Linux booting at the start of the installation would need
a kernel with rudimentary support for Braille and/or voice output -
maybe activated with a kernel parameter at the Lilo prompt if desired.
It would already be a big step forward if the screen output would
reach an interface: if nothing else one could connect a second
computer for the installation that runs a terminal program with voice
output under DOS. Maybe the installation program could be modified in
a way that a getty is running very early allowing an external login
for the installation. (odi)
Translation by Sabine Cianciolo
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