Operating Systems
An operating system is a big program that run's your device, whether it be a braille note taker, desktop, laptop or even a phone. Operating systems control the overall user interface as well as the underlying technologies that make today's computing world possible.
There is an overwhelming amount of operating systems out there, from windows, to mac OS10 ... I mean macOS because apple changed the name, to the thousands of linux distributions, right the way down to mobile operating systems like IOS and android. On this page, we review the accessibility features of these operating systems from a blind standpoint, showcasing there accessibility features (or lack there of).
Apple (macOS / iOS)
Using the New Navigation Gestures in iOS 12 With VoiceOver
With iOS 12 came a new way to navigate the operating system’s interface with VoiceOver on the iPad. This video explains the new gestures and how to use them.
MacOS 10.12 Sierra Accessibility Review
Lots of blind and visually impaired people already know that apple has been designing their products with amazing accessibility built right in, ever since 2005 when mac os 10.4 tiger was released and the feature set has continued to grow over the years. But for those who aren’t up to speed, or who are looking to buy a mac but not sure if they can justify the extortionate price tag, this video will show you the main accessibility features of macOS I use and why I prefer Apple’s VoiceOver screenreader over any other.
GNU / Linux
What is Linux?
If you’re new round here, you’re probably asking, at almost every page you visit, “What in the actual world is linux?” In this article, I hope to shed some light on Linux, its community and its philosophy.
Debian 9 Stretch With XFCE - Accessibility Review
As noted in my overview of Linux accessibility, Debian has, for quite some time now, been a very good choice for a blind user looking to get into Linux. It offers a speech and braille enabled installer and automatically sets up any necessary accessibility settings if they’re available,
Managing Multiple Monitors in Linux - No Sight Required
A video explaining how to lay out and configure multiple monitors in Linux, without needing sight.
Ubuntu Mate 18.04 Accessibility Review
It was the video that kickstarted my youtube channel! My review of ubuntu mate 16.04 went down like a storm, becoming one of the most popular videos on my channel. But what about its Long Term Support successor? In this video, I take a look at the beta release of Ubuntu Mate 18.04 LTS.
The State of Linux Command Line Accessibility
In this article, we explore the options available when setting up a command-line-only Linux installation. From speakup to fenrir, there’s a lot to offer.
Ubuntu 17.10 Accessibility Review
It was the talk of the town when it came out! The new vision of Canonical, releasing there latest version of ubuntu (17.10) with … the Gnome desktop? Running using wayland? Anyway, since this is a rather big change, we’ll go over the accessibility features of this new release so that anyone upgrading to 17.10, or to 18.04 when it comes out, will have a smooth transition.
Ubuntu Mate 16.04 Accessibility Review
Ubuntu mate is quickly growing to be a well respected, clean, easy to use linux distrobution.It has the latest features, the coolest software and the best desktop interface (in my opinion), but does it have the accessibility features that blind/vi people need out of an operating system? Actually, the answer looks very promising here’s a quick video showing the accessibility features of ubuntu mate 16.04 lts.
The State of Linux Accessibility
This article documents the state of Linux accessibility when using a graphical desktop. I try to keep this article as current as possible.