Linux MCE for blind and Visually Impaired

[jkenn337]

Hello, my name is Josh. I am writing to draw your attention to the fact that Linux MCE since it has been written for the KDE desktop is not accessible by blind and visually impaired linux users. Blind and visually impaired people use a few different methods to access Linux.
1. Screen readers which by using text to speech such as espeak, voxin, or cepstral, read aloud what is on screen according to the application being accessed. Screen readers are scripted to work with certain applications.
a. orca screen reader, free open source.
b. speakup screen reader with espeakup connector, free open source.
c. emacs with emacsspeaks. free open source self-voicing console app able to use several different speech engines. free open source. emacsspeaks is a complete self-voiceing audio desktop console application. most blind people prefer a flavor of debian such as knoppix-adriane, grml, or Vinux-cli-max or vinux dvd+ version with gnome and orca as screen reader, compiz for magnification for high partial folks who read large print.
2. braille driven by orca in gnome and also brltty that drives braille displays under linux.
3. emacsspeaks so I hear has an add-on that lets you talk to the computer using a microphone, speech to text.

Please Linux MCE developers please go to website w w w dot vinux dot org dot uk and please allow blind and visually impaired people to use Linux MCE. I wanted to let you know you forgot blind and visually impaired people when you designed your software. I think it would be so cool to have my home be automated. I don't have a cell phone so can you make an option so I could control the program through a web interface, in a web browser like firefox? then it would work on any device and the remote interface would be accessible.

thanks, and please please please make this software accessible for blind and visually impaired people. I run the free open source NVDA screen reader under windows along with my APH Refreshabraille, braille display. and I use Orca and speakup under Linux and the voiceover screen reader utility on the mac. and voiceover on the ipod touch. Again please make this MCE Linux software accessible. I look forward to responses from the developers on this matter. I will also send a copy of this message to the vinux community over at w w w dot vinux dot org dot uk ... to make them aware of this really cool home automation linux solution.

Josh Kennedy

[Marie.O]

Josh,

apart from the selection of media, LinuxMCE can be used by visually impaired people. Pluto thought about this. Each part of the main menue can be accessed using numbers. If you want to turn on the light of the room you are in, you press 1-1, if you want to turn it off, you press 1-2. To watch TV you press 2-2.

[bongowongo]

I think Josh wants to bring it to a higher level, instead of only shortcuts.

Also
They have a bongo in their team "Tony Sales (aka drbongo)"
http://vinux.org.uk/people.html

[l3mce]

Hi Josh,

As posde said, the automation portions of the system are available, by design, to visually impaired people. Integrating voice is something I have been flirting with, but opens a big can of worms in a system that does not have a release candidate yet. This would be a feature enhancement, and feature enhancements are verboten until we make it to release. On that magic date, voice integration is on my personal list of things to explore, but we are also a worldwide project. Everyone does not speak English. Everyone does not speak English with an American accent. It starts to get big quickly, especially if your media is in a language other than your own.

That being said, people are free to alter the software to suit their needs. If you would like to dig in, I will help in any way I can. One of my favorite software developers is blind. I do not view a blind user as any different than any other user. If you want it, like any other user, you are free to build it. I hope you take this in the spirit intended.