Using Ubuntu

[Cliff Falconer]

I am vision impaired, and if your father is a member of Blind Citizens Australia, they have an email list where a lot of users with a lot of computing experience help each other out. Some of them at least use ubuntu and may be able to help. They also have a computer users group, which from where I stand is not particularly technically based and he might find that useful. A lot of them have all sorts of knowledge about downloading and reading newspapers.

If your father is not a member of BCA - it does not cost much and has some bits worth knowing about. 

Regards,
Cliff

-----Original Message-----
From: ubuntu-au-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com [mailto:ubuntu-au-bounces at lists.ubuntu.com] On Behalf Of Gregory Storer
Sent: Sunday, 13 July 2008 5:35 PM
To: ubuntu-au at lists.ubuntu.com
Subject: Using Ubuntu

I just wanted to tell you about my 80 year old dad and computers.  He's
never used one (Although he tells me he did two years of typing, the
nuns thought it important that he knew)

Dad is mostly blind, and the thing he misses the most is newspapers.
He's an avid follower of news, and misses the indepth articles.

Using Ubuntu, an old modem and Orca Screen reader, I've set it up for
him to read the Age Online - text version.  

http://www.theage.com.au/text

It works quite well

Knowing he wouldn't be able to handle a mouse, I used the configuration
editor to map the Control keys to firstly dial the modem (control + 1)
and then open firefox (control + 2) (had all sorts of problems with
firefox always starting 'offline')  I set the sticky keys to allow him
to press the control button and let it go, then press 1 and let it go.
(I put some raised felt number stickers on the keys for him - from a
craft shop) I also slowed down the key rate so he wouldn't open multiple
browsers.

Somewhere along the way I set Firefox to allow a cursor to scroll
through a web page.

I increased the zoom level of the browser, to what I assume is maximum
and 3 or 4 words appear on each line.  Orca then reads those words and
he using the down arrow to scroll through The Age index, he can hear the
words and which helps him work out what's on the screen, he then presses
enter to go the article, and follows the same procedure to read the
article the back space to get back to the index.

He handled it pretty well. With a bit of practise he'll do fine.

He shuts the computer off by simply pressing the power button.  I set
Firefox so that it wouldn't ask if he wanted to restart a crashed
session.

Now that he seems happy with it all, I'll talk to him about an ADSL
connection, although the dial up works fine with the text version of The
Age.  I also just used an old computer lying around at home and an old
CRT.  I'm hoping that I can get the site up on his huge Plasma screen
and a wireless keyboard so he can really see the words.

I wasn't able to work out how to start Firefox already on full screen
(it appears you have to start it then press F11) and I haven't yet
worked out how to get Firefox to 'jump' to the next headline using
keyboard combinations.  I thought I'd try some other browsers to see if
any of the others worked in a better way.

Any suggestion on how to make this an even better experience for him
would be most welcomed!


I hope someone finds this useful.

Greg.

  


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