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Ask HN: How do I put together a computer for my blind mom?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I put together a computer for my blind mom?

#81

Post by psykovsky »

brudgers wrote: post #52
dbbolton wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Debian has some decent accessibility resources: https://wiki.debian.org/accessibility https://www.debian.org/devel/debian-accessibility/software ORCA is probably the strongest FOSS competitor of JAWS: https://wiki.debian.org/Orca https://help.gnome.org/users/orca/stable/ I don't know whether Debian would be the best choice for OP or not. In my experience, I wouldn't install any new OS for someone unless you are willi…

Malware has not been much of an issue since about the time Vista rolled out. The new model is pretty good and the free Microsoft Security Essentials fills in for 3rd party crapware antivirus packages. That's not to say that downloading 3rd party applications for Windows doesn't scare me much more than sudo apt-get install...the OS's just invoke different levels of trust in me. Anyway, XP was the last truly vulnerable…

The Microsoft Security Essentials bit would be very true if they didn't end up installing other crapware AV's on top of it, which happens more often than not, at least on the Windows computers I get my hands on. And even using more than one AV they still manage to get their browsers hijacked, etc.

Re: Ask HN: How do I put together a computer for my blind mom?

#82

Post by psykovsky »

tl wrote: post #60
brudgers wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Malware has not been much of an issue since about the time Vista rolled out. The new model is pretty good and the free Microsoft Security Essentials fills in for 3rd party crapware antivirus packages. That's not to say that downloading 3rd party applications for Windows doesn't scare me much more than sudo apt-get install...the OS's just invoke different levels of trust in me. Anyway, XP was the last truly vulnerable…

As someone who has had to clean an infested Windows 7 machine, I disagree; there is no limit on what users can be convinced to install.

There is no anti-virus against human stupidity.

Re: Ask HN: How do I put together a computer for my blind mom?

#85

Post by gbarker »

Have you considered a custom tool for your mom to control a screen reader in a way that’s most practical for her? A while ago I spent time with a gentleman who was blind and had ALS. I wanted him to be able to use his screen reader to browse the web even when he had almost no motor ability in his arms. So I built a tool that allows someone to browse the web through just a few key presses on the number pad. (The tool mostly simulates key input which the browser and screen reader are reacting to.) There’s a couple of videos of the tool at http://herbi.org/WebKeys/WebKeys.htm. Some technical details are at http://herbi.org/WebKeys/WebKeysTechnicalDetails.htm, and the source for the tool is at http://herbi.org/WebKeys/WebKeysVSProject.htm.

If you think a tool like this might have potential to be of use to your mom, let me know and I can try to update it in whatever way you think would help. (I can only help with tools running on Windows, as that’s all I know how to build.) Feel free to contact me at Barker@Herbi.org.

(I work in the Accessibility team at Microsoft, but my spare-time Herbi.org projects aren’t related to Microsoft. If you have any questions about the features in Windows for people who are blind or have low vision, let me know.)

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