Re: Advice for a programmer losing vision?

  • From: "Tyler Littlefield" <tyler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 09:09:02 -0600

Bill,
Something you might check out is the speakup project found at:
http://linux-speakup.org
They have a mailling list, and a good community.
Basically speakup is the community for one of the linux screen readers that is out, that uses espeak,flite,or festival. 
HTH,

Thanks,
Tyler Littlefield
Web: tysdomain.com
email: tyler@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
My programs don't have bugs, they're called randomly added features.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Cox" <waywardgeek@xxxxxxxxx> 
To: <programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, June 15, 2009 9:03 AM
Subject: Re: Advice for a programmer losing vision?



Thanks, Jim.
It makes me feel a lot better to hear you say that. I've been here before, with the typing problem, and there wasn't much of any community at the time 
to help.  Yes, I will most likely stay in the linux world, though I would
not rule out controlling linux boxes through cygwin bash shells and emacs
like I did before.  I also hope to help with development of some of the
tools being used.

Bill
On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 10:47 AM, Homme, James <james.homme@xxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote: 


 Hi Bill,

You can definitely be productive as a programmer in your situation.
According to me, you have come to the right place to ask these kinds of
things. We have a lot of great people on this list. Do you want to stay in 
the Linux world?



Thanks.



Jim



----------

Jim Homme, Usability Engineering.

412-544-1810.



Note: I will reply to email and voice mail within four hours.



"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.



"Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with
talent.



"Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.



"Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.



"Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

- Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)



*From:* programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:
programmingblind-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] *On Behalf Of *Bill Cox
*Sent:* Monday, June 15, 2009 10:32 AM
*To:* programmingblind@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
*Subject:* Advice for a programmer losing vision?



Hi.

Sorry if you get a lot of first-time dumb posts, like this.  I've got a
rare genetic defect that's causing me to lose my central vision. It's a lot 
like macular degeneration, but I'm only 45 years old.  I've been a
programmer all my life, and have succeeded in dealing with disability
before. I could not type for three years. I mostly program in C on Linux. 

What tools should I learn, what forums should I join, and what skills
should I develop to stay a productive programmer? I'm very good at building custom environments, which I did when I couldn't type. For example, should 
I bother with Braille, and which screen readers are best for mail, web
browsing (and which browser?), and controlling shells and emacs? I expect 
to have peripheral vision for a long time.  Do programmers with only
peripheral vision fare better reading text up close, or using screen
readers?

Thanks,
Bill

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