[Hudlug] modified fedora

[Michael Weaver]

I am wondering if i might be better changing to Fedora because they
are still putting a lot of work into accessibility with its Speakup
modified version although I might need to install a different way as I
don't have a hardware synthesiser.
I have pasted the two important documents below, the Speakup modified
howto and the telnet howto if I were to go this route.
How to Install the Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution
A distribution of GNU/Linux enhanced with
Speakup
: The world's leading Linux screen reader
Because equal access to all system functions is a blind computer
user's right, from
bootup to shutdown!
Version 6.0--Preliminary
 11 July 2007
For use with the
Speakup  Modified Fedora Distribution
, Version F-7 "Moonshine."
By
Janina  Sajka and William Acker
 Use this link to get the most current version of this HOWTO.
 And, be certain to use the latest version of this HOWTO when you
install the Speakup
Modified Fedora because the specific steps you need to follow do
change from time
to time.
IMPORTANT:
 The Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution no longer supports booting from floppy
diskettes. A CD (or DVD) ROM capable of booting i(or a flash memory
device such as
a USB disk drive) is now required to install the Speakup Modified
Fedora Distribution.
It is also possible to install exclusively over the Internet using PXE
if your network
card supports PXE.
 Also, while Speakup (and the Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution)
support operation
using software speech synthesizers, you cannot install using software
speech. A hardware
speech synthesizer is required to install the Speakup Modified Fedora
Distribution.
If you do not have a hardware speech device, consider using PXE or
telnet to install
the Speakup Modified.
Section One: Introduction and Copyleft
(C) Copyright 2007
 By Janina Sajka & William F. Acker
 All Rights Reserved
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms
of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later
version published
by the Free Software Foundation with no Invariant Sections, no
Front-Cover Texts,
and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license can be found at
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html#FDL
.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp.
We invite you to use this link to send us your comments and
suggestions on this document.
 Your comments are most welcome.
We wish to acknowledge gratefully the many comments and suggestions
we've received
in the past about this document. Your suggestions and error reports
have made this
a far better guide than we could have made it by ourselves alone.
Thank you to each
and everyone of you.
Blind people installing Red Hat using Speakup are also invited to call
Bill Acker
by voice telephone, during the evening and on weekends only please,
for direct, personal
assistance at +1.303.777.8123 in the USA's Mountain Time Zone, -02:00
U.S. Eastern
Time (New York). But, please do not call during business hours.
The Speakup mailing list is a good place to get help with your
problems and questions.
We strongly suggest, and we cordially invite you to
join the Speakup mailing list
.
Table of Contents
Section One: Introduction and Copyleft
Section Two: Are You Ready For Linux?
Before You Start ...
Other Helpful Guides
Section Three: Obtaining and Preparing Your Installation Media
Downloading Required Files
Using FTP
 Using a World Wide Web Browser
Will a Hard Disk Installation Work For You?
Creating Installation CD ROMs
Section Four: Installing
Supported Synthesizers and their Associated Keywords
Booting the Installation
Initial Installation Options
Speakup Screen Review Quick Reference
Conquering Disk Druid
Additional Specific Options To Consider
Section Five: Your Last Critical Steps
 Killing FirstBoot To Insure Speakup Speaks
 Another Way to Stop FirstBoot
Section Six: Donning Your Fedora
 If You Need To Start Speakup By Hand
 Booting Into Text Mode By Default
Welcome to Linux with Speakup
Use Yum to Stay Current
Grappling With Grub
Section Two: Are You Ready For Linux?
Linux is a wonderful environment for computer users who are blind, and
the Fedora
Core distribution is a compelling, robust yet cutting-edge and
comprehensive Linux
distribution. Unfortunately, the Fedora Project does not provide an installation
option accessible to the screen reader user, nor does it deliver a
completed installation
which includes console screen reader support. Until Red Hat, Inc. and the Fedora
Project again remedy this inequity, we will continue to provide the
Speakup Modified
Fedora distribution as the accessible alternative for the blind
computer user who
wants a Fedora-style Linux installation. While there are many ways to
get installation
media for Fedora, there is only one place on the planet which
consistently provides
installation media adapted expressly for those blind computer users
who want to use
the Speakup Linux screen reader to install a Fedora-style Linux on
their computers.
This means that the blind computer user will not require sighted assistance, and
that the end result will be an installation that talks every time it
is booted, but
only if you get your installation files here--at the Speakup Modified
Fedora Distribution
Home Page
Clearly, all users can choose among several Linux distributions, and we note and
applaud the several distributions of GNU/Linux that now directly provide Speakup
in their standard distribution channels--including Slackware and
Debian. Which particular
distribution one should choose is really a matter of personal choice.
Our only advice
is that users unfamiliar with Linux choose a distribution for which
they can most
easily get help when they have questions. In other words, it's harder
for the user
of Fedora to help someone using Debian or Slackware. This is an
important point because
beginning users will most certainly have questions--many questions.
Before You Start ...
Even persons who are experienced installing Linux need to prepare
before initiating
yet another installation. Everyone should expect to take time to
gather the information
and tools that will be needed to effect a successful installation. Do partitions
need resizing and reformatting? What network parameters need to be
specified in order
to connect to your Lan and/or the Internet? Are some data files, and
perhaps certain
partitions to be left untouched so that they can appear in the new
installation just
as they are today?
So, if you are new to Linux, plan to spend some time reading about the
installation
process and the kinds of decisions you will need to make before
undertaking an installation--especially
if you're installing on a hard disk which currently has some other
operating system
that you want to keep, such as Windows, for example. Linux will
coexist nicely on
a single hard disk with Windows, but only if you don't unintentionally delete it
during the installation process. There's no reason to delete Windows
before you're
ready. However, we strongly suggest you plan to dedicate a computer to
Linux exclusively.
Our experience teaches us not only that people who dedicate a computer
to Linux alone
experience less difficulty installing and configuring their Linux computers, but
that they also learn to use and enjoy Linux far sooner and much more thoroughly
If you are unfamiliar with Linux, you may soon find that the language
of Linux is
unfamiliar to you. This is especially true for users whose past
experience of computers
is with operating environments such as DOS and Windows. Of course, the very same
computer that runs Windows today may well run Linux tomorrow using the
same hardware.
But the words that designate the serial ports and the disks on the
system are examples
of the kinds of things which have radically different names under
Linux. In fact,
learning the language of Linux well enough to successfully install
Linux is arguably
the most difficult task in the entire process.It is very important for
you to know
how devices are specified in Linux, and about disk partitioning and
formatting under
Linux before you start. Also, be sure to have requisite information
about your network
connections handy.
Other Helpful Guides
The
  Official Fedora Documentation Site
 is an excellent resource for learning the important details about Linux because
it is comprehensive and clearly written, and because it provides
keyboard command
instructions in addition to mouse instructions.
So, use your favorite browser to study Fedora's on line installation
guide before
attempting your first Linux installation especially if you cannot
dedicate an entire
hard disk drive just to Linux. In particular note that you will need
at least 256
megabytes of RAM and at least 7.9 gigabytes of free disk space (or 2
gigabytes if
you don't install the graphical components) to effect a successful
installation of
the Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution. We recommend, however, that
you have at
least 10 gigabytes of free space on your hard disk for a full
installation of Linux
and room for the files you'll want to keep on hand especially if
you're also planning
to use the accessible graphical Linux desktop with Orca.
Once you have a good grasp of Linux basics, once you have a sense of
how you will
use Disk Druid, once you understand terms such as /dev/ttyS0,
/dev/sda, and /dev/sda1,
you'll be ready to begin installing Linux.
Section Three: Obtaining and Preparing Your Installation Media
There are several ways to achieve an installation of the Speakup Modified Fedora
Distribution. Unfortunately, the only good way is to first download
the CD (or DVD)
ROM image files from our servers (as we'll detail shortly) and then
create a bootable
CD ROM disk. It is no longer possible to install this distribution by
booting from
floppy diskettes. Methods such as
using telnet over a network
 are more advanced and are covered in a separate HOWTO.  Most users will need to
have these .iso images regardless and these files are very large which
unfortunately
makes the process of obtaining them a tedious chore for people who
need to use dial
up modems. They will take some time to download even over a broadband
connection.
Downloading Required Files
The Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution is provided as a set of CD
ROM images, and
as a single DVD image. These images are called ISO images, on the
Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution Home Page
. In addition, many people will also need either the rescuecd.iso, the
diskboot.img,
or ithe boot.iso image to boot the installation. Be sure that you have
a total of
about 3.0 gigabytes of free disk space in the directory to which
you're downloading
them.  Remember, you only need either the single DVD iso image file, or the five
disc iso image files, and possibly either the rescuecd.iso, the diskboot.img, or
the boot.iso image, (and about 3.0 gigabytes of free disk space).
Whether you use an ftp client, or whether you download these CD ROM
image files using
a world wide web browser is unimportant in itself. But, because each
of these files
is very large it will take some time to download them, even over a
fast network connection--so
that achieving a successful download can seem like a major accomplishment on its
own. We strongly advise, therefore, that you use a download method
which will resume
from the place it was interrupted should your network connection be
interrupted for
any reason.
IMPORTANT:
 It is critically important that you obtain a complete set of ISO images. Please
take care to note the file size and date for the image files you
download and make
certain that the images you plan to use for installation all come from
the same release
edition of the Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution. Updates to
included software
are made frequently, sometimes several times a month, so you cannot
expect to download
two images now and two more a few weeks from now. This is one of the
more frequent
mistakes people have made in attempting to download and install the
Speakup Modified
Fedora Distribution.
Using FTP
While unfamiliar to many people (especially Microsoft Windows users),
anonymous ftp
is arguably the easiest and simplest way to obtain these files--but
only if you have
a smart ftp client application like
ncftp for Linux or Windows
. To use anonymous ftp to download these files.  Follow these steps and end each
command by pressing -ENTER-.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
 If you're using Windows and don't know if the program you use to download files
is capable of resuming an interrupted download, you might want to get the
latest NCFTP for 32-bit Windows
.
1. Connect to our server with a command like: "open ftp.speakupmodified.org"
2. If you're asked to login, use "anonymous" as your login name.
3. If you're asked for a password, use your email address.
4. Change to the current download directory by typing "cd
speakupmodified/fedora/current/Fedora/i386/iso"
5. Make certain that binary mode is enabled by typing "bi"
6. Then, download the five .iso installation images with a command
like "mget F-7-i386-disc*"
7. Lastly, download either rescuecd.iso, diskboot.img, or boot.iso
with a command like
"mget boot.iso"
Using a World Wide Web Browser
Be sure that you are downloading files in binary mode and use this link to
download our CD ROM images
.
Will a Hard Disk Installation Work For You?
Now that you have the iso images for the Speakup Modified Fedora
distribution, you
may not need to actually create CD ROMs from these images in order to
install the
Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution. iIn fact, installing from iso
images that are
on your hard drive is often the fastest and easiest way to install. If
you downloaded
these files to a directory you will not be formatting, such as your
/home partition
(or your Windows Desktop), for example, you can simply use these files
as your installation
media.
To install from hard disk you will still need to create a bootable CD
ROM or bootable
USB stick) as described below. Download the
boot.iso or the flash media boot file
 (which is also available on the DVD image and the first installation
cd rom). Or,
use the rescue  iso image (also available on this page) both to
install and to keep
against the day that you need to fix problems with your installation.
Any of these,
or the DVD, or the first installation CD ROM will allow you to boot
and proceed with
your Speakup Modified Fedora installation.
NOTE: You may also use the hard disk installation option if you have
these iso images
on any kind of secondary, removable media such as an Iomega Jazz drive
or a Castlewood
Orb drive. The process is the same though the drive designation will, of course,
be different.
Creating Installation CD ROMs
We strongly suggest that you check the integrity of your downloaded
ISO image files
before you create CD ROM installation media, if you can. An SHA1SUM
File is provided
to assist you in this task. On Linux you can issue the following command:
sha1sum -c SHA1SUM
Of course, you should also use the data in this file to check the CD
ROM media you
create before beginning an installation. One way to accomplish this on
Linux is to
first edit this file, replacing the ISO image filename at the end of
each line of
text with the device designation for your cdrom drive, e.g.
/dev/cdrom. If you do
this, you can execute the above command to check each of your media disks.
We regret we know of no method for Windows users to check their downloaded image
files or their CD ROM disks before beginning the installation.
Fortunately, you will
have the opportunity to test the integrity of your disks early in the
installation
process, well before any data is written to your hard drive.
Now that you have the iso images for the Speakup Modified Fedora
distribution, go
ahead and create CD ROMs from each of these images using whatever
software you ordinarily
use for creating DVD or CD ROMs (wodim on Linux, or Nero or Easy CD
Creator on Windows,
for example).  If you will be installing from your hard drive (or from removable
media like a Jazz drive), you need only create one bootable media as provided on
our
installation media page
.
 Lastly, if your computer supports it, you can create a bootable flash
media disk,
such as a bootable USB "thumb" drive, with a Linux command like:
dd if=/diskboot.img of=/dev/sde
Of course, "/dev/sde" is an example only. Your correct designation
will most likely
be different.
What it means to "create a CD ROM from an iso image" has confused many
users, especially
Windows users. What this means, and how to do this is properly beyond
the scope of
this document, but we do want to do our best to provide some guidance.
First, and most important, you do NOT "copy and paste" the iso file
onto a CD ROM.
An "iso image" is actually a kind of "picture" of a CD ROM. In other
words, the iso
image is actually a mechanism to put many files in a single file.Yyour objective
is to create a CD ROM with the contents of the iso image, and not a CD
ROM with a
single .iso file on it. For example, the first installation CD ROM
should have files
like the following files on it: README COPYING, autorun, Fedora, README.speakup,
images. If you create a CD ROM that does not have these files, and has
only the iso
file, you didn't do it right.
Now that we've told you what it isn't, and given you some hints and of
what it is--and
especially of how to recognize that you've created your disk correctly, we pause
to provide some examples of how to create CD ROMs from iso image
files. Fortunately,
the process is well supported by most software used to create CD ROMs,
so you likely
only need to learn to use your software correctly.
Creating a CD ROM disk from an iso file on Linux is simplicity itself.
>From a console
prompt, issue a command like the following:
wodim -v -eject -dao -dev=/dev/scd1 [iso.image.filename]
Of course, this is an example only. Your CD ROM device may not be /dev/scd1, but
some other designation. And, you must replace [iso.image.filename]
with the actual
filename for each iso image file, as you create disks.
Users of Nero on Microsoft Windows need not specify a particular image
type to burn
when in the selection dialog of Nero because the ISO image is already
pre-configured
correctly. Simply select "burn image," choose the ISO file to burn,
and burn it onto
a CD ROM disk.
And, the following is for users of Easy CD Creator on Microsoft Windows:
1. Choose "File," "NEW DATA CD," and "Create CD from CD Image..."
You'll be presented
with a dialog box.
2. Click on the "Files of type:" dropdown box and select "ISO Image
Files (*.ISO)"
3. Select the .ISO file you want to burn and then press "Open."
4. At the "CD Creation Setup" dialog box, make sure the Write Method
is set to "Disc-At-Once"
and Close CD.
5. Select the desired write speed and create options, if necessary,
and then press OK
to begin creating your CD ROM.
Section Four: Installing
Now that you've gathered the information and created the media you
need to complete
an installation of the Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution, it is
finally time to
begin the installation process itself. Be sure to read through this section, and
through the installation sections of the
 Official Fedora Installation Guide
 before you actually begin the installation, though, so you can be
thoroughly familiar
with the process. In particular, pay attention to how you will specify
your speech
synthesizer in order to get a speech-enabled installation underway.
Supported Synthesizers and their Associated Keywords
We pause now to name the speech synthesizers currently supported by
Speakup. These
are the only ones available for you to use to install the Speakup
Modified Fedora
Distribution at this time. Please note the appropriate speakup keyword
associated
with the synthesizer you will be using. You will need to specify it at
the beginning
of the boot process as described below:
Speakup Supported Synthesizers and their Associated Keywords
Accent SA
acntsa
Accent PC
acntpc
Apollo
apollo
Audaptor
audptr
Supported Blazie products (including the Braille 'N Speak and the Millenium  and
the Type Lite (with firmware version 4.10 or greater), but NOT the PAC Mate)
bns
DEC Talk USB (serial only) and the DEC Talk Express
dectlk
DEC Talk External
decext
iTripleTalk internal (PCI card) and Doubletalk internal (isa card)
dtlk
TripleTalk, Doubletalk (or Litetalk) External
ltlk
Keynote Gold
keypc
Speak Out
spkout
Artic Transport
txprt
NOTE:
 While Speakup can now be used with a software speech synthesizer, the
Speakup Modified
Fedora Distribution can ONLY be installed using a hardware speech synthesizer.
The correct syntax for indicating which speech synthesizer you're using is:
speakup_synth={synth_keyword}
So, to install with an external Litetalk,you will specify that speakup
should talk
to the Litetalk synthesizer as follows:
speakup_synth=ltlk
By default Speakup probes for a speech synthesizer on all the serial
ports available
to it. If this doesn't work, you may specify a particular serial port. The first
serial port, the one Windows/DOS calls COM1 becomes ttyS0 in Linux,
and COM2 becomes
ttyS1, etc. So, to indicate that Speakup should use the second serial
port, you would
specify:
speakup_ser=1
NOTE: If Speakup probes for a speech synthesizer but fails to find
one, Linux will
still boot though it will not speak. On the other hand, if you specify
a particular
port and Speakup cannot find your indicated synthesizer on that port, Linux will
not boot.
Booting the Installation
At long last you are ready to begin installing the Speakup Modified
Fedora distribution.
Start a text-based installation with speech by booting your bootable flash media
device or the CD ROM you created from the boot.iso or rescue CD image,
or by booting
the first installation CD ROM disk.
NOTE:If booting the first installation CD ROM doesn't work for you, as
it currently
doesn't in some circumstances, you'll need to create a boot disk as described in
Downloading Required  Files
 above
But, when and how do you specify your synthesizer?
 Regrettably the boot prompt doesn't start out talking. So, you will
need to monitor
disk activity as your system boots. Most computers will beep briefly
following BIOS
activity just at the point that system information is read from disk.
Your disk will
spin briefly following this beep. When it stops, you're at the
installation options
menu.
At this point what you do depends on what media you booted:
If you booted from the DVD, the first CD ROM disc, or the boot.iso
disc image, press
down arrow once followed by TAB and then space.
If you booted from the rescue disc image, press up arrow once followed
by TAB and
then space.
Now, before you press <ENTER> complete your installation options
specification as
follows.
If you're using a hardware synthesizer to install with Speakup,
identify your device
as follows: speakup_synth={synth_keyword}
where {synth_keyword} is the appropriate
speech synthesizer keyword
. You may also specify your serial port (which seems to be necessary
with some computers).
So, for example, to start a text-based installation with an Apollo on the second
serial port, you would type:
 speakup_synth=apollo speakup_ser=1
And, if you're installing from your hard disk (or from removable media) you need
to add the "askmethod" argument to your command. So, if you're
installing from your
hard disk with a DEC Talk USB  connected on the second serial port you
would issue
your command like this:
 askmethod speakup_synth=dectlk speakup_ser=1
Lastly, if you are installing over telnet, you would type a something like:
 telnet dhcp&nb;ksdevice=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
Consult our
Telnet Installation Mini-HOWTO
 to learn more about using telnet for installation. Telnet is
particularly useful
when you have no hardware speech device to use installing the Speakup Modified.
You will have about five seconds to start typing this command.  Once
you start typing,
the time-out clock stops, so you can take your time to type the
command correctly
once you start typing.. If you feel you've made a typing mistake, you
will need to
begin from the beginning again. Regretably, there is no longer a reliable way to
clear what you've typed to start over, so type carefully.
About a minute after you press enter speakup will begin speaking the
installation
process. You're on your way.
Initial Installation Options
The first few choices you make will determine how accessible your
installation will
be. Here's what to choose. If you make a mistake, just start over:
Check the integrity of your CD ROM. You will be prompted to check the
integrity of
each of the CD ROMs you've created. While this is a time-consuming
process, we strongly
advise that you do so now if you haven't already checked your media
with the MD5SUM
checksum program. Better to find out now that all of your CD ROMs are
good, or that
you need to replace one or more in order to install successfully. The
default selection
will check your disk, so go ahead and press --ENTER-- to proceed.
Press TAB and then
--ENTER-- to skip checking any more CD ROMs.
Select your installation language. Press --ENTER-- to select English,
the default
selection, or arrow up and down to find the language you prefer and
then press --ENTER--
to select it.
The next screen is for specifying the keyboard map. The default
selection is U.S.,
and it's now OK to just press -ENTER- on this screen as well. It is
also now OK to
choose one of the other keyboard maps, so choose the one that matches
your language
and keyboard. This is a change from earlier versions of the Speakup
Modified Distribution.
Speakup Screen Review Quick Reference
Perhaps the trickiest part of the installation is also a very critical
point in the
installation. Red Hat's partitioning tool, called Disk Druid, is often confusing
to new users. You'll need to use Speakup screen review commands
carefully to ensure
that you've correctly specified your mount points and which partitions are to be
formatted. So, here's a quick introduction to using Speakup followed
by an introduction
to Disk Druid.
Screen review is accomplished on the numeric keypad with numlock off.
The -enter- key on the numeric keypad silences speech until you press some other
key. It also returns the audio cursor to the location of the on screen
cursor. For
this reason it is often helpful to press -ENTER- on the numeric keypad
after exploring
on screen data.
The CTRL key (by itself) makes Speakup catch up to the screen scroll.
The plus key on the numeric keypad reads the entire screen.
The #7 #8 and #9 keys read lines, previous, current, and next respectively. When
you use #7 or #9 to read the previous or next line, that line then
becomes the current
line (which you can then read using #8). This is how you can work your
way up and
down the screen.
The #4 #5 and #6 keys read by word.
The #1 #2 and #3 keys read by character.
The dot on the numeric keypad specifies your cursor location on screen.
There's more, of course, but this is all you really need to get
started and perform
a proper installation of the Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution of GNU/Linux.
Conquering Disk Druid
Partitioning the hard drive is one of the most critical tasks you face
during the
installation process. It's also somewhat complicated especially for
the beginning
user. Please study this section carefully, therefore, before you take
on this important
task for the first time.
On the other hand, you do have a choice. If you're happy letting the
installation
program make decisions for you, you can select "automatic" and you
will get two partitions,
a small /boot partition, and your remaining hard disk space in a /
partition. You
should only select "automatic" if you're willing to have your entire
hard disk reformatted.
We do not recommend selecting automatic disk partitioning primarily because your
/home directory will not be created as a separate partition. While
this may sound
mysterious to the novice Linux user, the experienced user will
immediately recognize
the problem here. Not having /home in a separate partition will mean
that all that
user data will need to be backed up before your next Linux
installation. Whereas,
creating a separate partition for /home, and perhaps also for
/usr/local, makes it
easy to reinstall tomorrow without the added complication of backing
up and restoring
user data.
To make your own partitioning decisions, you will need to indicate at
least the "slash"
mount point by using Disk Druid. There are two parts to the Disk Druid
main screen.
These are reached sequentially by using TAB and Alt-TAB. These two parts consist
of:
A list of partitions already defined on your hard drive. If your hard
drive already
has partitions, you will see them in this list. As you make changes,
the newly defined
partitions will appear on this list even though they haven't actually
been created
yet. And, if your disk doesn't have any partitions yet, only the
device designation
will appear on this list until you create partitions.
A set of action buttons you can select by pressing enter as you tab
around. These
buttons have names like "new," "edit," "delete," etc. When you're on
one of these
buttons, all you can do is press enter to initiate that particular
activity, or TAB
to the next button, or Alt-TAB to the previous button.
Fortunately, you can also activate these buttons using the function
keys at the top
of your keyboard. A legend is presented at the bottom of the DiskDruid screen:
F1 is Help, but it doesn't work.
F2 to create a new partition
F3 to edit an existing partition
F4 to delete a partition
F5 to cancel an operation and start over
f12 is the same as OK, as in "I'm done here."
We strongly recommend using up and down arrow to select the disk
device (or "free
space") to partition, and then one of the function keys to invoke the
appropriate
action. If you use up and down arrow plus the function keys, you'll
never need to
TAB in DiskDruid. Many people find this the better way to use
DiskDruid. But, you
can also TAB (and Alt-TAB) through the action buttons, pressing enter
to activate
one.
So, how do you know when you've tab'd to the list of defined partitions? Speakup
won't say anything in particular to tell you you've reached that list.
Instead, here's
how you can know. As you tab, you eventually come to a button that
says "back." When
you hear "back" for the first time, tab once more. You'll hear Speakup
say "back"
again. You are now on the list and can use down arrow (you'll always
start at the
top of the list) and then up arrow to move through the list. You can
only move through
this list when you're on it. In other words, if you're on one of the
action buttons
(like NEW or EDIT), up and down arrow will not work. Also, be careful
to use Speakup
"read current line" key, the number 8 key on the numeric keypad, to
ascertain that
you're actually on the partition you mean to be on before editing or
deleting it.
Press a function key (or TAB to an action button and press enter).
This will bring
up a new, subsidiary screen. Some of these subsidiary screens are
quite simple, others
are not. The EDIT and NEW screens, for example, will first give an
edit field where
the mount point for this partition is to be specified. This is where
you type '/',
or '/usr', or '/home', for example. Use TAB and Alt-TAB in these
subsidiary screens
to work your way through the various options and edit fields. Use the
screen review
features of Speakup often to understand what's happening. The #8 key
on the numeric
keypad is your friend. And, if you explore with other keys, remember
that the enter
key on the numeric keypad will return the Speakup cursor to the system
cursor--the
place you actually are on the form.
There are four types of controls you'll encounter on these subsidiary screens:
Edit fields indicated by underline characters where you're expected to
type something.
If you press the #5 key on the numeric keypad and hear the synthesizer say "line
line line," you're on an edit field. Note that many of these fields already have
a "1" in them that you may want to remove with the delete key. But, if
you select
"Fill all available space," be sure to leave this '1' there, or "Fill
all available
space" won't work.
Check boxes (indicated by [*] when selected and [ ] when not selected) where you
use the spacebar to select and unselect the item. You may not
recognize these unless
you use the current word key, the #5 key, on the numeric keypad.
Drop down lists where you use the up and down arrows to indicate your selection.
You'll encounter this control for specifying the file format (such as
ext3, ext2,
fat) of a new (or edited) partition. This control is probably the most difficult
to use with speech because you hear two selections as you move with up
or down arrow.
You hear both the selection you've arrowed away from, and the one you've arrowed
to, so you will probably want to be especially careful here. Go all of
the way to
the top or bottom of the list to get a sense of how this control works with your
speech synthesizer. Remember, you can come back and change this
information if you
need to.
OK and Cancel buttons;
IMPORTANT: Be sure to check each entry on the list of partitions
before continuing
to the next step. It is not hard to make a mistake in the Disk Druid
screens, and
it can be quite cumbersome to undo mistakes after you've created and
formatted partitions
Additional Specific Options To Consider
Here are some additional recommendations and critical points regarding
the choices
you need to make during the installation process:
The screens for configuring network interfaces have been rewritten.
Unfortunately
for the speech user, they are now somewhat harder to use. Most vexing
is that the
screen is not cleared after you leave network device configuration
when in text mode.
Clearly, this is a bug that Fedora will need to fix.
The package selection screens have also been altered, but these are
still quite easy
to use. We recommend you tab once to select additional package groups,
then simply
hold in the plus key (shift of equals next to the backspace) to select
all package
groups on the second package selection screen.
Most delightfully you can now specify your Speakup speech option as an
argument to
Grub. You will be offered the opportunity to pass additional arguments
to Grub. This
is a text edit field indicated by underline chars. If you're
installing using a hardware
speech synthesizer, your device will already show in this field. If not, perhaps
because you're installing using telnet, go ahead and specify your
default Speakup
device. For instance, to specify Speakup's software speech driver, put:
sftsyn. If you miss this configuration screen you can, of course, edit
your /boot/grub/grub.conf
file to specify your Speakup device later.
Section Five: Your Last Critical Steps
Immediately following the installation of software packages you will be prompted
to reboot your computer. Indeed, your installation of Linux is
complete. Certainly,
after all this work, you're anxious to try out your new Linux system.
STOP! Despite what the screen says: Don't Reboot Yet! You have one critical step
left to perform in order to finish your installation.
Insuring Speakup Speaks
1. Switch to the second console by holding down the left Alt key and
pressing the F2
key. When you release these you'll find that you're at a # prompt.i
Notice that this
prompt is truly indicated by the pound sign--the # '#' symbo. It may
not seem like
much, but it's a working command prompt.
2. If you installed over telnet, you can reach this command prompt by
suspending your
current session using Ctrl-Z.
3. Change to the directory that contains your new installation by typing:
cd /mnt/sysimage and pressing --ENTER--
4. Now, restrict your view to your installation by typing the
following command. Notice
that your prompt changes when you do this.
chroot . Be sure to type the period just as indicated--it's part of
the chroot command,
and remember to end your command by pressing --ENTER--.
Now, issue this last, very critical command:
/sbin/chkconfig firstboot off
If you fail to do this step you will find that Speakup suddenly stops
speaking just
when it seems you've finished booting your new installation of Linux.
That's because
the graphical (and inaccessible) FirstBoot program Red Hat provides to
help sighted
users define some important configuration settings, such as creating
users and identifying
how this computer connects to the Internet will completely block your ability to
do anything. Unfortunately, FirstBoot launches before any consoles
launch, so there
is absolutely nothing you can do as a blind user once FirstBoot is
running either
to work with FirstBoot or to get out of it. This is why it so
important to insure
that firstboot doesn't run when you boot your computer for the first time.
Another Way to Stop FirstBoot
You can also disengage FirstBoot by booting into "single user" mode.
To get to single
user mode you will need to monitor disk activity as your system boots.
 Most computers
will beep briefly following BIOS activity just at the point that
system information
is read from disk. You have about ten seconds during the time your
system is at the
Grub boot loader stage in its boot process to indicate an alternative boot mode.
Type "a s" and press --ENTER-- (without the quotation symbols, of
course). Your system
will boot with Speakup and you will come to a command prompt where you can issue
the chkconfig commands from the previous section to kill FirstBoot.
Use Ctrl-Alt-Delete
to reboot your system when you've finished.
Section Six: Donning Your Fedora
At long last the time has come to boot your installation of the Speakup Modified
Fedora Distribution. Return to the installation environment by
pressing Ctrl-D and
then go ahead and reboot by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete. You'll hear
Speakup reading
the various boot messages as your system boots. Eventually, it will
stop speaking
and your computer will beep once. You are now at the graphical login
screen for the
graphical desktop. This is where you will start Orca--but we won't be describing
that in this document. Consult Orca's help pages to learn more about configuring
and using Orca.
Step 1: Select a Text Console
Unless you change the default runlevel, you will boot into a graphical
console by
default.  So, press and hold:
The left Ctrl, Alt and F1 keys
 to switch to the first text console. You have six text consoles by
default, (left)
Ctrl-Alt-F1, (left) Ctrl-Alt-F2, through (left) Ctrl-Alt-f6, and you
can have more
by editing /etc/inittab appropriately.
Step 2: Login as "root"
You are now at the log in prompt. Type "root" (without the quotation
symbols) and
press -ENTER-. Then, type in the password you supplied for root during
the installation
and press -ENTER- again.
If You Need To Start Speakup By Hand
If you missed the step where you specify your Speakup device to Grub,
you'll need
to login without the benefit of Speakup before you can start Speakup. Here's how
to do it reliably. Boot your computer.  After all disk activity from
the boot process
stops, follow these three simple steps:
Step 1: Select a Text Console
Unless you've changed your default runlevel from "5" to "3" in
/etc/inittab You will
boot into a graphical console by default. So, press:
(Left) Ctrl-Alt-F1
 to switch to the first text console.
Step 2: Login as "root"
You are now at the log in prompt. Type "root" (without the quotation
symbols) and
press -ENTER-. Then, type in the password you supplied for root during
the installation
and press -ENTER- again.
You will know you've completed this step successfully if your computer
beeps when
you press the back-space key a few times. The beep means you're all
the way at the
left margin and can't back-space any further, Use this beep anytime
you start Linux
without Speakup to confirm that you've actually logged in. If it
doesn't beep, you
didn't type the login steps correctly. If that happens, try another text console
by pressing (left) Ctrl-Alt-F2 (or higher) and try logging in again.
Step 3: Start Speakup
Now that you've logged into your Linux computer as the root user, you
can start Speakup
for all text consoles by issuing the following command:
echo {synth_keyword}>/proc/speakup/synth_name
In the above command {synth_keyword} refers to the appropriate
speech synthesizer keyword
. Of course you should adjust this command to reflect your situation.
So, for example,
to start Speakup with the software speech device you would type:
echo sftsyn>/proc/speakup/synth_name
Note that specifying sftsyn is not sufficient to start Speakup with
software speech.
You must also correctly launch the software speech engine that sftsyn
will connect
to. For example, TTSynth users will likely use the command
spk-connect, or the shortcut
symbolic linkcommand, spt, to start TTSynth via the sftsyn Speakup
device as discussed
in the
TTSynth README document
.
Of course, it's never to late to add the proper Speakup device
designation to your
/boot/grub/grub.conf file. Simply open this file in your favorite text
editor (like
vim or nano) and append the correct Speakup keyword to then end of the
kernel line
in the appropriate stanza.
Booting Into Text Mode By Default
If you'd rather have your Linux system boot into text mode by default,
here's how
to set that up. As root edit your runlevel in /etc/inittab, changing
the value from
"5" (which specifies GUI) to "3" (which specifies text). Your edited line should
look like this:
id:3:initdefault:
Here's a reliable way to accomplish this edit from the command line
using the stream
editor, sed:
5. /bin/sed -i 's/id:5/id:3/' /etc/inittab
Welcome to Linux with Speakup
Congratulations. You should now have a working, talking Linux
installation. Of course
this undoubtedly means that you have more things to learn in order to
get the most
from your Linux computer. The Speakup mailing list is a good place to
get help with
your problems and questions. We strongly suggest, and we cordially invite you to
join the Speakup mailing list
.
We would be remiss not to provide some additional pointers to the
wealth of helpful
information about using Linux which is available to you. The following are but a
few, key options. Some of these are on line, web resources, and some
are built into
your Linux installation itself:
Learn the "man" command. Type "man man
" at a command prompt to learn about using man. It's a fundamental,
built in source
of information that you will not exhaust.
Learn about the "info" command. Type it at a command prompt. It's an
integrated and
cross-referenced help facility built into your Linux computer.
Discover all the on line support available to you just by launching
the lynx browser.
In particular consult the documentation we reference for you on the
Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution Home Page
.
Discover
The Linux Documentation Project
, and especially the collection of subject-specific
HOWTO Documents
 that you can read on line or download to your computer.
Use the useradd command to create user accounts. You should not
operate your installation
as root except to do system maintanance. The useradd command will also
create a home
directory for each user you create.
Use the passwd [username] command to set a default password for each
user account
you create. Tell your users that they must change this password by
issuing the passwd
command when they first login.
We recommend you learn to use mutt for email
For browsing the world wide web we recommend you use the command "lynx
-show_cursor"
If you edit your options in lynx, you can eliminate the "-show_cursor"
part of this
command. We also recommend you expiriment setting "Links and form
fields are numbered"
in lynx options.
6. Eventually you will want to choose one of the powerful text editors
to use in Linux,
either emacs or vim. Which one you choose is a matter of personal
preference. But,
you may find it easier to learn to use a simpler editor in the
beginning. We recommend
nano.
Use Yum to Stay Current
Fedora Core provides a safe and simple means for keeping your installation fully
up to date called yum, the Yellow-Dog Updater Modified. You do NOT
need to register
to use yum as you did with the older (though still viable) up2date
service. Yum is
simply the latest word in secure, up to date, package management for
your installation,
and it's easier to use than any other tool we've seen yet.
Because you're using a Linux kernel modified with Speakup, you need only to make
certain that yum doesn't install a kernel that doesn't have Speakup on
your computer.
Edit the /etc/yum.conf file and insert the following line of text
somewhere in the
section labeled [main]:
exclude=kernel* kernel-doc kernel-source kernel-smp *debuginfo*
Before using yum for the first time, you need to import the security
keys yum needs
in order to verify that the software it downloads is genuine. As root
do the following:
7. rpm --import /usr/share/doc/fedora-release-3/RPM-GPG-KEY*
Now, as root, run yum as follows from a console command line prompt:
yum -y update
It's really that simple to keep your installation fully up to date.
And, it's important
to do so particularly for the sake of the various security patches
that are released
from time to time.i And, if your computer is usually on and on line,
you may wish
to simply let your installation update you nightly and automatically:
8. chkconfig --level 35 yum on
The above command will turn on automatic update the next time, and
every succeeding
time you boot. To turn automatic yum updating on for the current boot do:
9. service yum start
Lastly, we at the Speakup Modified have also created a yum repository
for the various
packages, such as gnome-speech-ibmtts (for TTSynth) and Firefox 3 (with industry
leading accessibility). Now there's a yum way to keep your Speakup
Modified packages
up to date. Consult our
Yum Mini-HOWTO
 to learn more.
Grappling With Grub
If you have installed the Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution on a
computer which
also boots another OS, you will want to know how to choose which OS to boot when
you turn your computer on. You will also want to know when you're at
the so-called
"boot loader stage" of the booting process from time to time in order
to access single
user mode. Should you also choose to install more than one kernel, you will also
want to know when your computer is at this stage so that you can
select which kernel
to boot. To do this reliably as a blind computer user, you need to make the Grub
Boot Loader beep. Here's how to achieve that:
1. Edit the file /boot/grub/grub.conf with a text editor that allows
you to insert
control characters in the file. For our example we will  use vim.
2. Find the line that says "timeout" and arrow to the end. Press 'i'
to enter insert
mode,. Now you can adjust the time out interval to your  preference.
3. Comment or delete the two lines that refer to a splash image and to
 hidden menu.
Either delete these lines, or put a pound symbol, a "#" at  the
beginning of each
of these two lines.
4.  Find each line that starts with the word "Title" and which does
not have a pound
symbol at its beginning. Next find the beginning of  the second word
on that line,
e.g. the word "Fedora" on that line and  put your cursor on the first
character of
that word. Type Ctrl-V  Ctrl-G
5. Press Escape followed by :wq and --ENTER
The next time you boot you will hear one beep for each Ctrl-G symbol
you inserted
in this file.
The Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution is a community service of
  Capital Accessibility, LLC
The Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution is maintained by
William Acker
This HOWTO and the Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution web site is
maintained by
Janina  Sajka
, and was last modified on2 January 2005.
Return to the
Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution Home Page
Speakup Modified Fedora
Steps For A Telnet Install
1.      Follow the guidance in the
Speakup Modified Installation HOWTO
 up to the point where it talks about what to type at the Boot>
prompt.  The guidance
provided to that point is still accurate and relevant for telnet installations.
2.      At the Boot> prompt issue a command like the following. If you
know how to discover
what IP address has been assigned to your computer over dhcp, you can
use that shorter
option instead. In any case, Yryou will not have speech feedback
during this process,
so backspace the entire line off if you think you have made a mistake,
and retype
it. It's a lot of typing, but you need to get all these details in.
  This command must be issued on one line, even though it has probably
been wrapped
into at least two lines on this web page.
  text telnet ip=[ip.address] netmask=[netmask]
gateway=[gateway.address] ksdevice=[ethernet.device]
  Example:
  text telnet ip=192.168.33.123 netmask=255.255.255.0
gateway=192.168.33.254 ksdevice=/eth0
  In the above ksdevice refers to your ethernet device designation.
You can leave
this part out if the machine you're installing on has only one
ethernet device (namely
/dev/eth0). But, if you're installing on a computer with multiple
devices, e.g. a
portable computer with a wired ethernet port and builtin wireless
ethernet, you will
be prompted inaccessibly on screen for the ethernet device the Fedora
installer should
use if you don't just tell the installer up front which one to use
with the ksdevice
designation. So, be sure to include it. If in doubt, use the mac address of your
ethernet device. If there is any doubt, it's absolutely worthwhile
taking the trouble
to get the mac address of your ethernet device before beginning the
installation.
  Example with mac address and dhcp:
  text telnet dhcp ksdevice=AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF
3.      Then, ping the ip address you provided with your command. When
you get a response,
telnet to it.
  TIP: If you are on Linux, use alarm ping, e.g.:
  ping -a 192.168.33.123
4. When your ping starts singing, it's time to telnet to the installation.
  telnet 192.168.33.123
Be aware that it takes some time for the telnet server to get loaded
and become available.
The installation must first load its various drivers and this may take
some time--perhaps
a few minutes.
     Once you make a telnet connection, the installation will proceed
precisely as
described in the HOWTO. However, there is one important difference
that must be considered.
You will not be able to switch consoles when performing a telnet
installation, so
you will need a different strategy for dealing with the inaccessible
firstboot application
that Fedora launches the first time you boot after a successful installation.
Without a strategy for what to do about first boot, you'll find
yourself wondering
what happened. You'll think you've done an installation without error,
and rebooted
just as instructed, and you'll be correct.  Firstboot doesn't talk,
and there's no
way to escape out of it once it's running. Without sighted assistance,
you may only
be able to force a reboot--not a pretty scenario.
Fortunately, you can suspend your installation screens using Ctrl-Z
and dismiss firstboot
permanently as described in the Installation HOWTO. This is the method
we recommend.
Once you do that, issue two successive Ctrl-D's to return the the congratulatory
"Reboot" screen and press
 to reboot into Fedora.
Blind people using Speakup to install Fedora  are invited to call Bill
Acker by voice
telephone, during the evening and on weekends only please, for direct,
personal assistance
at +1.303.777.8123 in the USA's Mountain Time Zone, -02:00 U.S.
Eastern Time (New
York). Please do not call during business hours.
Washington Monument
The Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution is a community service of
  Capital Accessibility, LLC
Contact Us
     Capital Accessibility
   Silver Spring,
   Maryland - USA
   Voice: (+1) 202-595-7777
The Speakup Modified Fedora distribution is maintained by
William Acker
This webpage is maintained by
Janina  Sajka
The Speakup Modified Fedora Distribution is a distribution of
GNU/Linux enhanced
with
Speakup
: The world's  leading Linux screen reader
 Because equal access to all system  functions is a blind computer user's right,
from bootup to  shutdown!
Back to the Top
Valid XHTML 1.0!
(c) 2006 SpiderWebb.net for Capital Accessibility, LLC
Site design by
      Katie Haritos-Shea
This web site's design renders best in browsers that support
W3C Web Standards
, but its      content is accessible to any browser or Internet device.
Last Updated:
July 11, 2007