#AskFedi: What are the best #Linux distros for the Blind and low-vision people of any tech level?

[shadowfals@toot.cat]

#AskFedi: What are the best #Linux distros for the Blind and low-vision people of any tech level?

What are the options for a blind install or preinstalls that have functional screen readers?

(I know the options aren't great, some assistive features are disappearing without explanation, but I want to believe there's something worth suggesting for this year.)

[asep@toot.community]

@shadowfals Emmabuntus maybe? https://emmabuntus.org/accessibilite/

[mkj@social.mkj.earth]

@shadowfals I do believe that Debian does pretty well, including that it has software speech support for the installer (and that is apparently the default since Debian 12, which would be about three years ago). https://wiki.debian.org/accessibility has a lot of details and there is also the section on accessibility in the stable release manual at https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/amd64/ch05s02

#Linux #Debian #accessibility

[shadowfals@toot.cat]

@DenOfEarth that would nice if it worked. The answer for 12 years ago didn't work for the person asking for help.

[shadowfals@toot.cat]

@asep bookmarked for further reading! Thank you.

[shadowfals@toot.cat]

@mkj good to know.

Debian seems to be the best choice for artists, too.

[dragonfi@social.jsteuernagel.de]

@shadowfals I checked out the wiki for Arch Linux. There are options, but it does not look very promising:

When the installation medium starts booting, press Down followed by Enter to boot with speech enabled.

You know, after the installer boot menu appears -- that you can't see -- but before the 15 second timeout that selects the default silent option.

(Of course, it is a distro for advanced Linux users, so it might not even fit for your use case.)

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Install_Arch_Linux_with_accessibility_options

[shadowfals@toot.cat]

@dragonfi thank you for looking into Arch, anyhow.

[kevinrns@mstdn.social]

@shadowfals

Above needs hashtags

#ScreenReader #blind #tech #adaptation #linux

[terminaltilt@climatejustice.social]

@shadowfals

There are two distros I know of that are specifically built for low vision and then there are some that are mainstream distros built with some accessibility features added or can be added on.

The built in low vision distros (that I know of) are Accessible Coconut, which is based on Ubuntu Mate and it is designed to be a more comprehensive out of the box solution to be fully functional without sight. It includes preconfigured screen readers, magnification, and a six-key input mode for Braille.

Then there is Vojtux, based on Fedora, that was designed by a blind software engineer. It is well liked because it includes scripts to handle different tasks, like turning monitors on/off or enabling certain features that have to be toggled (I think it is QT based).

Then the mainstream options to consider (that I know of) are:

Debian (I am bias, it is my favorite) which offers a beep prompt and can start a voice guided installation. It also has good support for brltty and console readers.

Trisquel which is 100% libre and enables Orca by default on the ISO. It is good for people who want something simple and are concerned with their privacy.

I hope that helps! I am sure there are more options, that is just what I have come across in my experience.