Announcing ZipSpeak: An Easy-to-Use Talking Linux Distribution
Mar 21st, 02:55 UTC
ZipSpeak is an easy-to-use talking distribution of Linux for blind and
visually impaired people. Introduction
ZipSpeak is a talking mini-distribution of Linux for blind and
visually impaired people, based on version 7.0 of the ZipSlack
distribution and version 0.08 of the Speakup screen reader. ZipSpeak
is designed to be easily installed on an existing MS-DOS or Windows
system, so that the user can start using a talking Linux system with a
minimum of difficulty.
The standard version of ZipSpeak consists of a ZIP file which
contains the main distribution; a set of Linux kernels which have
Speakup built in, one for each supported speech synthesizer; a set of
boot disk images for these kernels, along with an image that doesn't
include Speakup; a utility for making boot disks from these images;
and some documentation. While the standard version is usable with any
supported synthesizer, there are also customized versions of ZipSpeak
in which the appropriate kernel for a specific speech synthesizer is
included in the ZIP file, and the boot disk for that synthesizer is
the only included talking boot disk.
What is Needed to Use ZipSpeak
Users will need a PC with an Intel 80386 processor or better, with
at least four megabytes of RAM, though more RAM is certainly
recommended. (For more information about running ZipSpeak with four
megabytes of RAM, see the fourmeg.README file in the ZipSpeak
distribution.) ZipSpeak requires at least 100 megabytes of hard disk
space, though more is recommended. Users will also need one of the
following hardware speech synthesizers: Accent-PC, Accent-SA,
DoubleTalk-PC, DoubleTalk-LT, Speakout, or any synthesizer that is
compatible with one of these. Finally, users will need a system
running MS-DOS or any version of Windows, though Windows NT with the
NTFS file system will not work.
What is Not Needed to Use ZipSpeak
Users will not need to back up, repartition, or reformat their hard
disks to run ZipSpeak; it will install on existing MS-DOS or Windows
systems (except for Windows NT with NTFS). A user will also not need
a sighted person to help with the installation or startup of the
system; this can be done completely independently with speech
feedback.
Where to Get ZipSpeak
The standard version is available by
FTP. A customized version for any supported synthesizer is
available on request from the author and will probably also be
available on CD-ROM in the near future.
For Further Information
ZipSpeak is based on ZipSlack, which is a simplified version of the
larger Slackware Linux distribution, created and maintained by Patrick
Volkerding. To find out more about Slackware, refer to the Slackware Web site.
ZipSpeak uses the Speakup screen reader, written by Kirk Reiser and
Andy Berdan, to provide speech feedback under Linux. Speakup is built
into the Linux kernel itself, so that everything on the console from
boot-up to shutdown is spoken. Speakup will be especially familiar to
people who use or have used the Automatic Screen Access Program (ASAP)
from MicroTalk under MS-DOS. To find out more about Speakup, refer to
the Speakup Web
site.
Finally, new blind users of Linux can join the blinux-newbie mailing
list to ask questions and discuss any issues related to Linux use by
blind people. More experienced Linux users are also welcome to join
and help out. To join, send a blank message to:
blinux-newbie-subscribe@egroups.com
Final Comments
Any questions or comments about ZipSpeak may be sent by email to the author. Thanks
to Mark Senk for motivating
the author to work on this project and providing suggestions along the
way, and to the creators of ZipSlack and Speakup for making ZipSpeak
possible.
(Submitted by Matthew Campbell of )
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