Ubuntu Wiki

Ubuntu Open Week - Accessibility - Henrik Omma - Mon, Oct 22, 2007

18:11 < heno> popey: thanks
18:12 < keithcleaveruk> has this session tarted yet?
18:12 < keithcleaveruk> *started
18:13 < heno> In the Ubuntu accessibility team we work to make the distro accessible to different groups such as visually or motor impaired
18:13 < heno> General information here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Accessibility
18:14 < heno> we have included various tools like screen readers, magnifiers and on-screen-keyboards
18:14 < heno> to provide access to these groups
18:15 < heno> much of the work lies in integration with the existing desktop
18:15 < heno> the screen reader needs to pick up text info from other programs for example
18:16 < heno> We've also added several access modes to the live CD
18:16 < heno> so that it can be tested and installed with those tools already running
18:17 < heno> For Gutsy we saw some improvements based on compiz
18:17 < heno> such as a more advanced magnifier and colour filters for the colour blind
18:18 < heno> ... new technologies often bring access regressions as well though
18:18 < heno> because these use cases are not tested for as much
18:19 < heno> I'll leave the introduction at that. can I take any questions?
18:20 <@popey> heno: would you like me to paste them in?
18:20 < heno> popey: yes please
18:21 <@popey> you may also want to join #ubuntu-classroom-chat to follow the conversation
18:21 < heno> yep, thanks
18:21 <@popey> < harkonen_> QUESTION: do the curent screen readers read individual elements in the GUI, or only things like pop up windows and documents?  and how is navigation done thru GUI if user can't see to use the mouse; is it done with arrow keys, &c?
18:22 < heno> yes, gui elements written with GTK all contain access information like 'this is a button' and it's label
18:23 < heno> it should be possible to navigate the whole desktop with the keyboard
18:23 < heno> and when it isn't that's a bug!
18:23 < heno> (new programs often introduce such bugs)
18:23 < harkonen_> does it compare well with JAWS then? (if you've seen JAWS in action?)
18:24 < heno> the screen readers also have their own hot keys to help you navigate text
18:24 < heno> I've not had JAWS demonstrated, but I hear that it does
18:25 < heno> See the Orca project for details
18:25 <@popey> < clem> QUESTION: are these tools and technologies gathered in a single metapackage? And if so, are related desktop themes too?
18:25 < heno> http://live.gnome.org/Orca
18:26 < heno> they are generally not in a meta-package but are installed by default
18:26 < heno> that's because it's difficult for someone who needs that to install anything without the tools
18:27 < heno> they are simple to activate on any standard desktop
18:27 < heno> Alt+f2 + orca for example
18:27 < heno> or boot the Live CD and press F5
18:28 < heno> some high contrast themes are also included
18:28 < heno> ok, popey, next
18:28 <@popey> < ian_brasil> QUESTION enabling assistive technologies for running dogtail tests often causes strange errors (often due to GTK labelling errors)..what do you think of hacking linda/lintian so that a package fails checking if this is not done (i.e treating ATI as a first class citizen)
18:29 < heno> ian_brasil: we are working on exactly that for Hardy
18:30  * ian_brasil puts away crystal ball
18:30 < heno> Lars Wirzenius will be working on automated desktop testing which will be stress testing both the desktop and the whole access framework
18:31 < ian_brasil> is this framework web based...open source?
18:31 < heno> some details here https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/Meetings/OsloSprint
18:31 < heno> of course!
18:31 < ian_brasil> thx...thats great
18:32 < heno> ian_brasil: we'll be using things like linda, lintian, piuparts, dogtail, sccerciser, etc
18:32 < heno> ok, next?
18:32 <@popey> < Linuturk> QUESTION: As a side effect of your efforts, you have made it easier for users of tablet computers to use all the features of their systems in a more complete manner. Are you aware of any specific group or team that focuses on tablet specific accessibility, or would that be something your team would cover?
18:32 < Linuturk> For example, I've modified the gdm login manager to bring onBoard up on startup for my tablet.
18:32 < ian_brasil> autotools?
18:33  * warp10 is away: Sono occupato
18:34 < heno> Linuturk: I don't think we would cover that for the general public, but this is also a big part of making the future mobile platform more accessible
18:34 < heno> there will be groups working on that
18:34 <@popey> can we keep the chatter to #ubuntu-classroom-chat as much as possible please
18:34 < heno> popey: next
18:34 < Linuturk> heno: is there a certain group or team where I should focus my efforts
18:34 < Linuturk> ?
18:36 < heno> Linuturk: the eZoom developer Kristian Lyngstøl may be starting a team to work on this
18:36 <@popey> < popey> QUESTION: A member of my local lug claims that Ubuntu breaches local UK laws regarding accessibility, specifically I believe due to the initial boot screen being hard to read  (brown on black). Is there anything being done (other than F6 - which is hard to read) to make the initial boot screen easier to read?
18:36 < heno> though we are still just brainstorming
18:37 < heno> popey: I take it you are referring to the Live CD boot screen
18:37 <@popey> yes
18:38 < heno> we don't have any changes planed STM, and changes to default visible things are always controvertial
18:38 < heno> but to put it in perspective: that is only an issues on a non-installed (Live) system, which in turn relates to a demo or the install
18:39 <@popey> it's the first thing you see though...
18:39 <@popey> ..or in his case _don't_ see :S
18:39 < heno> and Ubuntu is the only OS I know of that even attempts to make the installation accessible
18:40 < heno> it could be better of course. one option is to make a derivative with much more access turned on by default
18:40 < heno> but we'd rather not go that route because we then lose much critical mass
18:41 < heno> popey: perhaps a single F-key to give zoom+high contrast would be good
18:41 < heno> I'm sure most software breaks lots of access rules in most contries
18:42 <@popey> sure, in perspective this is a Fedora user
18:42 < heno> I wish the rules were tighter and enforced better than they are
18:42 <@popey> ok, thanks. next?
18:43 < heno> popey: yes, they have been catching up nicely :)
18:43 < heno> next?
18:43 <@popey> < maks_> QUESTION integration with debian accessiblity support [http://www.debian.org/devel/debian-accessibility/] eg mario lang, who is himself disabled of sight?
18:44 < heno> We have some collaboration with debian, including Mario, yes
18:44 < heno> they have traditionally focused more on command line tools ike speakup
18:44 < heno> while we have introduced desktop tools earlier
18:45 < heno> we are both borrowing code from each other
18:45 < heno> It now looks like our on-screen-keyboard, onBorad, may go upstream and merge with GOK, which is great
18:46 < maks_> merci
18:47 < heno> next?
18:47 <@popey> < Linuturk> QUESTION: Are there any good text to speech engines out there, for someone who has the capacity to know what they want to say, but are unable to verbalize it?
18:48 < heno> Linuturk: espeak is lightweight and has support for many languages and festival has a more natural voice but is a bit slower
18:48 < heno> espeak is on the live CD and installed on all systems by default
18:48 < heno> you can pipe any text source into it
18:49 < Linuturk> many thanks :)
18:49 < heno> popey: next?
18:49 <@popey> thats your lot
18:50 < heno> ok, great
18:50 <@popey> :)
18:50 < heno> any more questions anyone?
18:50 < heno> popey: thanks for helping
18:50 <@popey> < sesamebike> QUESTION: for the lazyman, is it possible to control the GNOME desktop via the voice commands? Like, "Open firefox, browse to url...." etc. maybe with a lerning mode
18:50 <@popey> np
18:51 < heno> sesamebike: some work is being done on this but it is still very primitive
18:51 < sesamebike> keep up the good work!
18:51 < heno> sesamebike: thanks!
18:51 < heno> see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/SpeechRecognition
18:53 <@popey>  < gonzalo> Question: Gutsy has a voice control program (though it's from Gnome IIRC), which seems would be useful in the accessibility field, but so far only recognizes English... Is there any work on it, maybe getting it to work with other languages?
18:54 < heno> gonzalo: yes, there is some work being done on Spanish, German and Japanese
18:54 < eolo999> question:what about festival?
18:54 < heno> perhaps others. See the VoxForge site for details
18:54 < eolo999> question: what about festival?
18:55 < heno> eolo999: we provide it as an option for Orca, but espeak is the default
18:55 <@popey>  < mbt> QUESTION:  espeak in gutsy doesn't seem to work properly—No speech comes out, just errors on stderr.  Is there a trick?
18:55 < eolo999> thx
18:56 < heno> mbt: please file a bug :) Is that running it with Orca or from the command line?
18:56 < mbt> From the command line.. I can pipe through lame and then get the output, but not directly.  Will file.  Thanks :)
18:56 < heno> we made some late changes, reverting portaudio to v18. we might have broken something :(
18:56 < Linuturk> can confirm problem here heno :)
18:57 < heno> a11y needs more testing! ...
18:57 < heno> apparently the screen readers are working, which is the main use case
18:58 < heno> looks like that's it for today