Two weeks ago we aired a show about the Sonar Project which is a specialized GNU/Linux distribution to develop and proof accessibility in a modern distribution. This is a test bed and so every single enhancement and discovery will be sent back upstream so that all distributions will be accessible by default.
The Sonar Project show was downloaded a total of 14,219 times so far and yet only 127 people have donated.
Today it's a case of the blind leading the (simulated) blind as Jonathan Nadeau walks pokey through an install of the Sonar GNU/Linux distribution without a monitor.
So listen along and experience what life is like if you are a blind hacker.
Press PAUSE to hear what it would be like if Jonathan had not done so much work already.
The project is here http://www.indegogo.com/sonar
The Accessible Computing Foundation can be found at theacf.co or http://accessiblecomputingfoundation.org/
The project itself can be found here www.sonar-project.org
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Comment #1 posted on 2013-02-14T22:26:12Z by Jonathan Nadeau
Thank you
Hey Guys thanks for the kind right up. Thanks to all that have pledged and made this possible so far. HPR ROCKS!
Comment #2 posted on 2013-02-16T22:49:10Z by Jonathan Nadeau
update
I just wanted to let everyone know that we are down to only needing 851 more pledges!
Comment #3 posted on 2013-02-18T00:29:04Z by Jonathan Nadeau
update with the campaign
We are now down to needing 592 more pledges to meet the 1000 pledges at $5!
Comment #4 posted on 2013-02-18T17:02:59Z by davijordan
You should be able to get around having a monitor at boot time maybe with one of these.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?200444-DVI-to-VGA-Dummy.....56K!
http://blog.zorinaq.com/?e=11
Comment #5 posted on 2013-02-20T07:32:25Z by William
Hmm
While listening I couldn't help but think it would be much easier for blind people to use a command prompt and lynx-like applications. Perhaps money would be better spend building text based apps for whatever it is that blind folks would like. A text based twitter client specialized for the disabled, stuff like that?
Tabbing through 2d laid out forms - is that really the best way to be doing this?
I'm not blind, but back in the day, I was able to use Windows 95 without a screen to do a few simple things, such as change screen resolution. And it's cool that people who do this a lot get really good at it, but most people shouldn't have to install so many times that they'd get really good at using a GUI without being able to see it.
Also on indiegogo the figure of 1 billion people with disabilities is mentioned. Are there really that many people disabled to the point where they need a special operating system? I admire the project and its goals, but is that not overstating the problem unnecessarily?
I apologize if this sounds harsh. I plan on donating and wish the project luck.
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