Re: What is a reasonable minimum system for Graphical UNIX accessibility? [was Re: for educational purposes...]

[Janina Sajka <janina rednote net>]

OK. I'll take up Peter's question, because I actually address this
question in my Speakup Modified Fedora installation HOWTO. So, I also
need an answer and would value community opinions on the subject.

My threshold response is that the specs for a graphical system are
significantly higher than for a console system. Since we're talking
emerging economies here, it's important to make this distinction because
there's enormous power and strong accessibility for many (though not
all) personsw tih disabilities on a console only system.

So, for sake of comparison, my minimum on console only would be as low
as a Pentium 2 running at 150-200 Mhz. An hd of at least 4 Gb is
advisable, though one can get by with less than 1 Gb without much
difficulty. The problem is RAM. Debian can still be installed with as
little as 32 Mb, Fedora requires 64. I don't know about Slackware's
minimum.


Obviously, one can work harder and install on even older hw, but my
bright line is about relatively easy installs and easy integration with
existing applications management. So, I want the user to be able to use
yum and apt-get when they're done installing.

For graphical accessibility, my sense is that the cpu should be at least
1 Ghz. The HD should be 10 Gb at an absolute minimum, and 30-40 would be
well advised if media files are to be housed on the unit. I think RAM
becomes even more important. I wouldn't do less than 512, though I know
many people do. If I were to say "minimum," I suppose that would be 256.
For me, however, RAM is the least appreciated componant, and the most
important in producing a responsive system. Lower the RAM and you
introduce sluggish behavior as the system thrashes around the swap
partition.

The nature of the AT device, and how it connects, clearly is critical.
No way would I advise a blind person today to rely soley on software
speech. It's neither sufficiently robust and reliable, nor does it
provide sufficient independence to allow one to manage one's system
without sighted assistance. If you're going to use speech, get a
hardware speech synth--and that means a serial port.

Unfortunately, gui accessibility for the blind user is ONLY supported
via software speech. This introduces problems. Too many of today's sound
devices off-load dsp processing to the main cpu and queue sounds to be
played. So, an older Sound Blaster (though certainly PCI, not ISA) might
actually be a clever addition, and a better choice than most of today's
audio devices. 

The next item for my minimal requirements is connectivity. A stand alone
system is nowhere near as useful as a system connected to the rest of
the world via the Internet. Obviously, the computer itself requires some
ISP to connect--but this must be considered wherever possible, as
absolutely vital.

Peter Korn writes:
> Greetings,
> 
> An interesting topic has come up out of this thread, and I'd like to turn 
> it into a general question.
> 
> What is a reasonable minimum system for graphical UNIX accessibility 
> (which, for now, means GNOME but will hopefully soon mean KDE)?  The 
> majority world doesn't have the money that many have in the west, and 
> likewise doesn't have governments that have programs to purchase AT for 
> people with disabilities (e.g. Department of Rehab in the U.S., many others 
> across Europe).
> 
> By doing everything (or virtually everything - Java excepted) FOSS (and 
> Java a free download from a cost perspective), we have dramatically lowered 
> the barrier of entry.  Instead of having to pay $50-$200 for your OS 
> (bundled vs. standalone), $50-$500 for your office suite (bundled vs. 
> standalone), and as much as $1,100 for your screen reader - you get all of 
> this somewhere between free and $100 (the $100 comes with at least 
> installation support).
> 
> But there is still the hardware cost, and the installed base of that 
> hardware.
> 
> We clearly need a sound card or some sort, or a serial port, for audio.  We 
> clearly need a serial port or USB port for Braille.  Sun has a minimum of 
> 256MB RAM for the Java Desktop System - a requirement we inherit from SuSE, 
> but practically when you look at running big apps this seems appropriate to 
> me.  Magnification today works with any video card, but if we want to move 
> to COMPOSITE, that will require a relatively modern card with ~8-16MB RAM 
> minimum on it (I believe these can be had for ~$30 retail in the U.S.).  Is 
> this a reasonable requirement, or for price & installed base must we 
> continue to support (and strive to improve the functionality of) our 
> existing magnification approach?
> 
> What other minimum requirements do we have, and how reasonable are they?
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Peter Korn
> Sun Accessibility team
> 
> _______________________________________________
> gnome-accessibility-list mailing list
> gnome-accessibility-list gnome org
> http://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/gnome-accessibility-list

-- 

Janina Sajka				Phone: +1.202.494.7040
Partner, Capital Accessibility LLC	http://www.CapitalAccessibility.Com

Chair, Accessibility Workgroup		Free Standards Group (FSG)
janina freestandards org		http://a11y.org

If Linux can't solve your computing problem, you need a different problem.