LiveCdAccess

Revision 19 as of 2006-06-29 10:43:04

Clear message

Live CD Access

Summary

Further improve the Live CD access features.

Rationale

This spec is a continuation of https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+spec/accessible-livecd

Use cases

  • Sarah has low vision and finds the current live CD boot menu difficult to use. She read on the website that she should boot the CD and press F5 but the menu that pops up then is too small to be of use to her. A full-screen, high-contrast version would allow her to perform the Live CD boot and system install independently.

  • Oscar is blind and has a similar problem with the boot menu as Sarah, though the large version won't help him. Some audio feedback, either spoken words or distinctive tones, would be a great help.
  • Henrik is very pleased with the default support for sticky keys on the new live CD. With that he can boot the CD and start using the Gnome menus directly and also launch and complete the Ubiquity install process independently. Some areas of the Ubiquity installer are a bit cumbersome to navigate with the keyboard, but it works.
  • All users: After the install is complete, the access features that were enabled in the Live session are no longer turned on. This means these users cannot actually start using the system until someone else comes along and activates the access features.

Scope

For Edgy we will expand on the accessibility of the Live CD by:

  • Better provisions in the gfxboot menu for the visually impaired
  • Allow acessibility profiles used during the live CD session to be installed to the HD

Related issues which are not covered by this spec include: Access testing of Ubiquity, multilingual speech synthesis, new access technologies (see [::Edgy Access]) and derivative versions (see [:KubuntuAccessibility:KubuntuAccessibility] and [:Accessibility/Specs/XubuntuAccessibility:XubuntuAccessibility]).

Design

  • For the accessibility menu, use large icons that depict the various disabilities, with text written underneath each icon.

attachment:NewBootMenu2.png

[https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility/Specs/LiveCdAccess?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=NewBootMenu2.svg SVG version] - based on highviz icons by Jakub 'jimmac' Steiner.

  • Provide some useful audio feedback for each menu option (simple beeps and clicks). The sounds are not spoken words and thus do not require translation. The meaning of the different sounds can be found on a web page at access.ubuntu.com, which would have an explanation in plain-text.

Implementation

  • gfxboot menu: Create 6 high contrast menu images based on icons. Write code in gfxboot for navigating (highlighting) these options.

  • Audio feedback: create 6 different sounds based on the standard ubuntu desktop sounds. Convert to mod format for use with gfxboot.

  • Install settings to HD: The final usecase/problem has been reported as a bug in casper and should be relatively easy to address: https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/casper/+bug/50319

Outstanding issues

BoF agenda and discussion

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