Linux for disabled people
Oakland’s Free Standards Group wants Linux to be accessible to people with disabilities.
"The non-profit group will encourage Linux developers to make their software work with a standard version of Linux," says a Mercury News story here. "That standard version in turn will be compatible with software and hardware developed for disabled people," says the report, quoting the group’s executive director, Scott McNeil.
Backing it are IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems, as well as Linux software providers such as Red Hat and a number of universities.
"There already is a group of Linux developers who have created software that enables blind or visually impaired people to read computer text, mainly through speech synthesizers that turn text into spoken word," the story goes on. "Another device, a special Braille keyboard, pushes pins upward so text can be read by passing a hand over the keyboard.
"The standards group will make certain the right software is developed so that different speech synthesizers, keyboards and other devices will work with any Linux operating system software or applications."
January 21st, 2004 at 4:11 pm
“Oakland’s Free Standards Group wants Linux to be accessible to people with disabilities.”
They should start by making it accessible to people without disabilities
January 23rd, 2004 at 3:43 am
That’s not that hard, it’s just that nobody’s done it because Linux is still a geek thing. The closest thing so far is Knoppix, or Xandros maybe.
June 23rd, 2005 at 5:12 pm
mnmn