Final call for info re accessibility profiles.

[Aurelian Radu]

Hello, Jason, and thanks for replying.

I'm still using XP and unfortunately I don't think I'll be switching to 
Ubuntu (or any other Linux distro) any time soon. The main reason is that I 
can't use gnome-mag and gnopernicus with apps like Firefox and especially 
OpenOffice.org on Linux. I've installed Ubuntu dozens of times (literally!). 
First Hoary, then Breezy, then upgraded to Dapper... New versions of 
gnome-mag and gnopernicus have been released, but they don't seem to be any 
better than the previous ones.

I prefer to use the magnifier in split-screen mode (in the lower third of 
the display area). And now here are some issues:

1) I thing the default settings with the magnifier splitting the display 
vertically is not a good idea. I think splitting the screen horizontally 
makes much more sense. Maybe in the future it will be possible to adjust 
size and position by dragging the margins, like you do with kmag.

2) The first thing I do after installing gnome-mag and gnopernicus is modify 
the settings. But after rebooting, sometimes my settings are remembered and 
sometimes gnopernicus reverts to the default settings. If I turn the 
crosshair off the program always remebers this settings, but settings like 
position and zoom factor are not always remembered. It's very annoying to 
change them every time I boot into Ubuntu or restart gnopernicus.

3) Gnome-mag renders magnified images very poorly, showing black patches and 
portions of closed windows. I don't think it's a hardware problem, because 
kmag renders images very clearly.

4) The Firefox bug (focus-stealing to the upper-left corner) is still 
present in Dapper Flight 4 with FF 1.5.0.1.

5) gnome-mag follows keyboard focus in the terminal, gedit and other GNOME 
apps (even in gnomeradio!), but not in OOo! I know I need the java 
access-bridge and then I have to recompile OOo, but that's too much for a 
non-geek like me. Any chance OOo is going to work with gnome-mag/gnopernicus 
in the near future?

6) Some apps that DO work with the magnifier are not very good at it. For 
example, when you type into a text box or search bar, the focus goes to the 
center of the box/bar, it doesn't really follow your typing. If the text 
box/search bar is long and you use a high magnification factor, you won't be 
able to see what you type until you reach the center of the box/bar.

7) Gnopernicus magnifier sometimes crashes nautilus, totem and rhythmbox.

There might be other issues. I'll write them down when I will 
remember/encounter them.

Aurelian Radu




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jason Grieves" <jasongrieves at hotmail.com>
To: "'Aurelian Radu'" <ricaradu at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 5:44 PM
Subject: RE: Final call for info re accessibility profiles.


> Hello,
>
> I would like to work with you on your gnome-mag issues.  I have been 
> working
> (in free time) in a full guide/implementation of gnome-mag in full screen
> mode.  Have you utilized these features before?  I would like to catch up
> with you to discuss limitations, features you like, etc.  Eventually I 
> want
> to begin working on a side project for a new magnifier.  I really feel it 
> is
> important to get a lot of data/input first.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jason Grieves
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: ubuntu-accessibility-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com
> [mailto:ubuntu-accessibility-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com] On Behalf Of 
> Aurelian
> Radu
> Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 9:59 AM
> To: Ubuntu Accessibility Mailing List; Luke Yelavich
> Subject: Re: Final call for info re accessibility profiles.
>
> Hello,
>
> In my experience, it's better to place the magnification window at the
> bottom of the screen, so that it splits the display area horizontally, not
> vertically. Since the magnifier is mostly used for reading, emphasis 
> should
> be put on the width, not the height, of the magnification window and the
> magnified area. On my 1024x768 display I use the following settings:
>
> Top = 540
> Bottom = 767
> Left = 0
> Right = 1023.
>
> With these settings, the magnifier doesn't hide the GNOME bottom panel,
> except when the mouse is over the magnification window. Anyway, I removed
> the bottom panel on my system.
>
> The default settings would be more appropriate for reading Japanese 
> writing,
>
> I think ;)
>
> I use a magnification factor of 8, because I'm very near-sighted. I know
> that not all visually-impaired people need to use such a high 
> magnification
> factor, but still I think 2 might be too little. Maybe 3 or 4 should be
> considered. Unfortunately, gnopernicus is not very accessible from the 
> point
>
> of view of changing settings. You need to open no less than four windows 
> in
> order to change zoomer settings. Every time I use this program I punch
> myself in the face for not learning to program. Now it's too late, I'm an
> old dog, and busy to boot.
>
> A thousand thanks to Luke and the team for the work they've done so far.
> I've got more suggestions/questions about gnome-mag, gnopernicus and (why
> not?) kmag, if anybody wants to hear them. I've been using the great 
> little
> magnifier that comes with Windows for two years now and I wish GNOME/KDE
> magnifiers could be as good as that one.
>
> Thanks for your time!
>
> Aurelian Radu
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Luke Yelavich" <themuso at themuso.com>
> To: "Ubuntu Accessibility Mailing List"
> <ubuntu-accessibility at lists.ubuntu.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 3:39 PM
> Subject: Final call for info re accessibility profiles.
>
>
>> -- 
>> Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list
>> Ubuntu-accessibility at lists.ubuntu.com
>> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility
>>
>
>
> -- 
> Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list
> Ubuntu-accessibility at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility