Blind vs. mainstream distros

Linux for blind general discussion blinux-list at redhat.com
Sat Apr 29 18:35:09 UTC 2017


Yeah, it's already a challenge to keep documentation aimed at power
users up to date without the added difficulty of making it
comprehendible to the new user in a way that doesn't come across as
condescending, but once you have the content, it's trivial to
distribute it in every major document format.

Though, another thought occurs regarding audio versions:
While a human reader with a good microphone would probably be best,
might there be value in say, an Orca tutorial that is read by Orca
itself? Could help potential Orca users grow accustomed to listening
to a synthetic voice prior to actually trying to control the source of
that voice, double as a demonstration of Orca's capabilities, and
presumably, whenever there's a revision to the text, there is probably
a means of automating the creation of a machine-read audiobook instead
of the time involved in a human recording and post processing.
Actually, while a human is limited to making voice recordings in
real-time, couldn't a sufficiently powerful machine produce a
synthetic voice recording in a fraction of the recording's run time?

I even find myself, if the target audience is young, blind children
using a computer for the first time, imagining Orca giving a
self-introduction that somewhat personifies itself as if it was a
character from a children's television show. Something like:

Greetings my little friend! My name is Orca and I live inside your
computer where I help people of all ages who rely on hearing to work
and play. Now, come along as I introduce you to the wonderful world of
Linux.

Sorry if that sounded really silly(I have zero experience writing for
young children, blind or otherwise), but I couldn't help putting it
down. And if anyone here ever decides to try and write a tutorial
targetted at teaching blind children to use a Linux Desktop with Orca
providing speech or anything similar, feel free to use that line as is
or to modify it as you deem fit.

-- 
Sincerely,

Jeffery Wright
President Emeritus, Nu Nu Chapter, Phi Theta Kappa.
Former Secretary, Student Government Association, College of the Albemarle.




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