From nick at microlitesoftware.co.uk Mon Mar 3 16:44:45 2025 From: nick at microlitesoftware.co.uk (Nick Wood) Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2025 16:44:45 +0000 Subject: State of Orca in Ubuntu 24.04 Message-ID: <13c319f4-e72f-4f3a-ab16-27a6809e9367@microlitesoftware.co.uk> Hi all, I am looking to convert an old laptop from Windows to Linux, and I'd like to go with Ubuntu 24.04 so I have a long term support release. I just wondered how accessible Ubuntu is these days as its been quite some time since I used it. Does Orca still work out of the box and is the installation process accessible if I'm booting off a live USB? Any pitfalls I need to be aware of? Thanks, Nick From milton at kleinbedrijf.org Mon Mar 3 19:35:02 2025 From: milton at kleinbedrijf.org (milton) Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2025 20:35:02 +0100 Subject: State of Orca in Ubuntu 24.04 In-Reply-To: <13c319f4-e72f-4f3a-ab16-27a6809e9367@microlitesoftware.co.uk> References: <13c319f4-e72f-4f3a-ab16-27a6809e9367@microlitesoftware.co.uk> Message-ID: Hi Nick, I use Ubuntu 24.04 GNOME with Orca. Thanks to Orca I could install Ubuntu myself. It fits my needs, I use Firefox, Chromium, LibreOffice Writer and Calc, the Terminal, vlc etc. Milton Op 03-03-2025 om 17:44 schreef Nick Wood: > Hi all, > > > I am looking to convert an old laptop from Windows to Linux, and I'd > like to go with Ubuntu 24.04 so I have a long term support release. > > > I just wondered how accessible Ubuntu is these days as its been quite > some time since I used it. > > > Does Orca still work out of the box and is the installation process > accessible if I'm booting off a live USB? > > > Any pitfalls I need to be aware of? > > > Thanks, > > > Nick > > > From nick at microlitesoftware.co.uk Tue Mar 4 16:14:51 2025 From: nick at microlitesoftware.co.uk (Nick Wood) Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2025 16:14:51 +0000 Subject: State of Orca in Ubuntu 24.04 In-Reply-To: <9dd44f42-53b2-475d-b2ce-24fbe0db73b5@gmx.it> References: <13c319f4-e72f-4f3a-ab16-27a6809e9367@microlitesoftware.co.uk> <9dd44f42-53b2-475d-b2ce-24fbe0db73b5@gmx.it> Message-ID: Thanks Milton and Kyle. I've used Fedora before quite successfully but I just liked the idea of not having to upgrade to a new release twice a year. I'll give Ubuntu 24.04 Gnome a go and see how I get on. Regards, Nick On 04/03/2025 13:11, Kyle wrote: > I have a miniPC that I use to run a home file and web server and the > like. I wanted to install Ubuntu 24.04 on it about two months ago, as I > also wanted the long-term support. Perhaps it was because I used > Ubuntu-MATE rather than the regular GNOME-based Ubuntu, but any time I > would change some basic Orca settings, Orca stopped speaking until I > deleted its configuration files in ~/.local/share/orca. I ended up > installing Fedora-MATE-Compiz on that machine and it is working well. > Perhaps this is fixed in Ubuntu-MATE 24.10, or maybe GNOME Ubuntu > doesn't have this problem. But now that I have things working and > speaking, I don't really want to run too many experiments on that > machine now. Since at least one person does have GNOME Ubuntu speaking, > I say go for that version and see how it works for you. You don't have > to install anything before you have played with it to see how well it > will work on your system. > > ~Kyle > From artemissb at gmail.com Tue Mar 4 16:31:04 2025 From: artemissb at gmail.com (Stephanie Brown) Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2025 11:31:04 -0500 Subject: State of Orca in Ubuntu 24.04 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <84C541B1-D093-4270-A85F-83180D7BC65A@gmail.com> Thanks for all this useful info. Really missing the Vinux distro! I’ve been looking for a good stable Linux distro to replace it that plays well with Orca. Anyone had experience with Accessible Coconut? Regards, Steph > On Mar 4, 2025, at 11:15, Nick Wood wrote: > > Thanks Milton and Kyle. > > > I've used Fedora before quite successfully but I just liked the idea of not having to upgrade to a new release twice a year. > > > I'll give Ubuntu 24.04 Gnome a go and see how I get on. > > > Regards, > > > Nick > > >> On 04/03/2025 13:11, Kyle wrote: >> I have a miniPC that I use to run a home file and web server and the >> like. I wanted to install Ubuntu 24.04 on it about two months ago, as I >> also wanted the long-term support. Perhaps it was because I used >> Ubuntu-MATE rather than the regular GNOME-based Ubuntu, but any time I >> would change some basic Orca settings, Orca stopped speaking until I >> deleted its configuration files in ~/.local/share/orca. I ended up >> installing Fedora-MATE-Compiz on that machine and it is working well. >> Perhaps this is fixed in Ubuntu-MATE 24.10, or maybe GNOME Ubuntu >> doesn't have this problem. But now that I have things working and >> speaking, I don't really want to run too many experiments on that >> machine now. Since at least one person does have GNOME Ubuntu speaking, >> I say go for that version and see how it works for you. You don't have >> to install anything before you have played with it to see how well it >> will work on your system. >> >> ~Kyle >> > > -- > Ubuntu-accessibility mailing list > Ubuntu-accessibility at lists.ubuntu.com > https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-accessibility From kyle at gmx.it Wed Mar 5 01:38:55 2025 From: kyle at gmx.it (Kyle) Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2025 20:38:55 -0500 Subject: State of Orca in Ubuntu 24.04 In-Reply-To: <84C541B1-D093-4270-A85F-83180D7BC65A@gmail.com> References: <84C541B1-D093-4270-A85F-83180D7BC65A@gmail.com> Message-ID: As Accessible Coconut is pretty much just a slightly modified Ubuntu, I personally would stick to upstream Ubuntu. Ubuntu has been accessible out of the box since probably 2007 or so, though there is the problem of Orca no longer speaking after changing settings, but that could be a bug in Ubuntu-MATE or it could be specific to Ubuntu-MATE 24.04. It's possible that the GNOME version or even the MATE version 24.10 either may have fixed the bug or never had it. I will give these a try in a virtual machine to see what I find. ~Kyle From nick at microlitesoftware.co.uk Wed Mar 5 18:13:04 2025 From: nick at microlitesoftware.co.uk (Nick Wood) Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2025 18:13:04 +0000 Subject: State of Orca in Ubuntu 24.04 In-Reply-To: References: <84C541B1-D093-4270-A85F-83180D7BC65A@gmail.com> Message-ID: Hi all, I managed to install the standard Ubuntu 24.04 workstation (i.e. the Gnome edition) and so far everything is going well. I haven't experienced Kyle's issue with Orca stopping speaking yet after modifying its settings. There were a few bits in the installer when I had to resort to flat review, but overall it was a decent experience. (I have no sight at all so for me its Orca or nothing) I'm still in the process of installing apps and setting everything up but so far so good. Regards, Nick From milton at kleinbedrijf.org Wed Mar 5 18:56:00 2025 From: milton at kleinbedrijf.org (milton) Date: Wed, 5 Mar 2025 19:56:00 +0100 Subject: State of Orca in Ubuntu 24.04 In-Reply-To: References: <84C541B1-D093-4270-A85F-83180D7BC65A@gmail.com> Message-ID: Yes also for me Ubuntu gnome and Xorg with Orca works for me. And I also only work with speech, so I'm very happy with Orca. Milton Op 05-03-2025 om 19:13 schreef Nick Wood: > Hi all, > > > I managed to install the standard Ubuntu 24.04 workstation (i.e. the > Gnome edition) and so far everything is going well. > > > I haven't experienced Kyle's issue with Orca stopping speaking yet > after modifying its settings. > > > There were a few bits in the installer when I had to resort to flat > review, but overall it was a decent experience. > > > (I have no sight at all so for me its Orca or nothing) > > > I'm still in the process of installing apps and setting everything up > but so far so good. > > > Regards, > > > Nick > > > From dcrone215 at gmail.com Thu Mar 6 16:49:40 2025 From: dcrone215 at gmail.com (Daniel Crone) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2025 10:49:40 -0600 Subject: gnome vs mate Message-ID: <7F02A5A3-B801-4868-AAFD-EC4E84BCC9D4@gmail.com> Gnome seems to have the advantage that one can connect to the wi-fi easily. On mate, one must deal with the top pannel and it seems harder to pick the wi-fi network. As far as settings, mate seems to be easier for some settings. Gnome has the settings screen, but for me it is very hard to work. I welcome anyone's thoughts on these matters. From nick at microlitesoftware.co.uk Thu Mar 6 18:26:03 2025 From: nick at microlitesoftware.co.uk (Nick Wood) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2025 18:26:03 +0000 Subject: gnome vs mate In-Reply-To: <7F02A5A3-B801-4868-AAFD-EC4E84BCC9D4@gmail.com> References: <7F02A5A3-B801-4868-AAFD-EC4E84BCC9D4@gmail.com> Message-ID: <44191010-38e5-4daa-b7bb-fed951b46911@microlitesoftware.co.uk> I do struggle with the Gnome settings app. It used to be a lot better years ago but after it was redesigned I think its become a lot less accessible - or at least that's how it feels to me. I also didn't have much luck with the Gnome text editor in Ubuntu 24.04. I ended up replacing it with Leafpad which is my favourite text editor as its so simple. (I'm not a fan of tabs in text editors - if I've got several files open I find it easier to tab between the individual windows) Regards, Nick From milton at kleinbedrijf.org Thu Mar 6 18:57:58 2025 From: milton at kleinbedrijf.org (milton) Date: Thu, 6 Mar 2025 19:57:58 +0100 Subject: gnome vs mate In-Reply-To: <44191010-38e5-4daa-b7bb-fed951b46911@microlitesoftware.co.uk> References: <7F02A5A3-B801-4868-AAFD-EC4E84BCC9D4@gmail.com> <44191010-38e5-4daa-b7bb-fed951b46911@microlitesoftware.co.uk> Message-ID: <3625dcfb-432e-4010-a24f-f7ab65ec7f93@kleinbedrijf.org> Indeed Gnome settings was more accessible but I can find my way for esample to add another user, Bluetooth, Energy, Privacy, System. I also installed Pluma which is my favorite text editor and switching between windows with Control+Alt+Page-Up or Down. Other apps I can switch between windows with Alt+` (the key above the Tab). I like to use Super to start an app or an existing document. Milton Op 06-03-2025 om 19:26 schreef Nick Wood: > I do struggle with the Gnome settings app. It used to be a lot better > years ago but after it was redesigned I think its become a lot less > accessible - or at least that's how it feels to me. > > > I also didn't have much luck with the Gnome text editor in Ubuntu 24.04. > > > I ended up replacing it with Leafpad which is my favourite text editor > as its so simple. > > (I'm not a fan of tabs in text editors - if I've got several files > open I find it easier to tab between the individual windows) > > > Regards, > > > Nick > > >