TechBull

I'm back with a brand new series!

This series will start with installing a Solid State Drive(SSD) in my Linux Lenovo T410.

Each episode will cover a few things, basically the lessons I learn which hopefully you will also learn from.

A brief mention is made in this episode of my experience installing an SSD in Windows 10; TrueImage; and CloneZilla.

Remember, if you are either disabled or  elderly you can ring     AbiltyNet, a UK charity, who can make visits to  your home, if    necessary,  or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone  telephone  number   is 0800 048  7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a  friendly computer club     with people who are willing to help – talk  to your local council.

Welcome to the twelfth and final episode in Series 2 of TechBull. This episode is just a simple guide to all the previous episodes in Series 2.

Series 2 of TechBull has all been about Linux from a Windows perspective, encouraging Windows users to try Linux by dipping their toes in the Linux waters.  The series also took into account accessibility and how Linux compared with Windows in this regard.

Episode 1 started with a brief history of Linux and mentioned also the Internet of Things.

Episode 2 started talking about Graphical User Interfaces,  Linux Desktop Environments, and Linux Distributions.   There was also the first mention of ORCA – the Linux screen reader function.

Episodes 3 and 4 started to get into detail about how to  download Linux distributions, burn the resultant ISO files to magnetic media where they could be booted from into a “live” session without harming in any way your existing device.   The thorny subject of UEFI was also covered.  There was also some mention of the more popular Linux distributions.

Episode 5 introduced one of the accessibility features of Linux, namely MOUSE KEYS which works just like the Windows equivalent, but you need to listen to the episode to hear the difficulties I had with some  laptop keyboards.

Episode 6 covered the BOUNCE, SLOW and STICKY accessibility features, collectively known in Linux as Typing Assist or AccessX tools.  These are just the same as in Windows.

Episode 7 continued to cover accessibility features of Linux mentioning Visual Alerts, On Screen Keyboard, Large Text, High Contrast and Magnifier.

Episode 8 covered ORCA which is a screen reader and equivalent of the Windows Narrator functionality.  A few examples of ORCA in action were included in the podcast.

Episode 9 was all about browsers and Office products and the built-in accessibility features.  Of course it compared with similar products and functions available in Windows.

Episode 10 covered how I had managed to install Google Voice Assistant into Linux and gave real examples of it in action within the podcast.  The episode also covered photography cataloguing and editing applications – how some popular ones worked in Linux also.  Music playing apps were covered.

The penultimate episode in series 2 – number 11 covered audio and video recording software and then briefly mentioned some of the many 100s of games and thousands of other applications all waiting in the Linux store ready to be installed for free or if necessary downloaded and installed for free.

Remember, if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring     AbiltyNet, a UK charity, who can make visits to your home, if    necessary,  or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone  number   is 0800 048  7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club     with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.

This episode mentions Linux audio recording video recording apps; games, chat, educational and scientific software.

A  big shout-out to Columbus, OHIO USA who it would seem are my biggest listeners to this podcast.  It turns out that this city holds a Linux festival every year.  This year, 2020, of course it is virtual for the first time.  I’m sure all podcast listeners wish them well for the festival on November 5th to the 7th – check out their website www.ohiolinux.org/or just search for OHIO Linux festival – I’m sure you will find it.

Remember, if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring    AbiltyNet, a UK charity, who can make visits to your home, if   necessary,  or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone number   is 0800 048  7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club    with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.

Be prepared to be wowed!

This episode covers just voice assist functionality, photography and music applications.

Remember, if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring   AbiltyNet, a UK charity, who can make visits to your home, if  necessary,  or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone number  is 0800 048  7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club   with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.

This episode covers just 2 applications many of us use regularly; browsers and office tools.  

Some of the many accessibility features available in browsers and office functions are mentioned.

Remember, if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring  AbiltyNet, a UK charity, who can make visits to your home, if necessary,  or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone number is 0800 048  7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club  with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.

We continue the accessibility theme in Linux and how it compares with MS Windows.

This episode covers Text-to-Speech, otherwise known as Screen Reader or ORCA - the equivalent of Windows Narrator.

Remember, if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring AbiltyNet, a UK charity, who can make visits to your home, if necessary, or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone number is 0800 048 7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.

We continue the accessibility theme in Linux and how it compares with MS Windows.

This episode covers Visual Alerts, On Screen Keyboard, Large Text, Magnification and High Contrast.

Remember,if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring AbiltyNet, a UKcharity, who can make visits to your home, if necessary, or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone number is 0800 048 7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.

This episode continues the theme of the accessibility features within many Linux distributions.

This episode covers BOUNCE, STICKY and SLOW keys - they are just the same as Windows!

Remember,if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring AbiltyNet, a UKcharity, who can make visits to your home, if necessary, or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone number is 0800 048 7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.

This episode starts the investigation into Linux Accessibility features to demonstrate how Linux can do accessibility just like Windows can.

We start with MOUSE KEYS - the ability to control the on-screen cursor/pointer by using the keyboard.

You will need to listen to hear my embarrassment!

Remember,if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring AbiltyNet, a UKcharity, who can make visits to your home, if necessary, or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone number is 0800 048 7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.

Following Episode 3 this episode answers some of the feedback received regarding ISO files.

This link makes a similar point that I have made

https://www.maketecheasier.com/how-to-move-from-windows-to-linux

that you can use any Desktop Environment you wish for each Linux Distribution.

Here Are links to the distros mentioned where you can download, burn, boot, and try.

Linux Mint - https://www.linuxmint.com/

Linux Ubuntu - https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop

Feron OS - https://ferenos.weebly.com/get-feren-os.html

Zorin - https://zorinos.com/

Ubuntu Certified Hardware List - https://certification.ubuntu.com/desktop

Remember,if you are either disabled or elderly you can ring AbiltyNet, a UKcharity, who can make visits to your home, if necessary, or ring you to help you.  Their free-phone telephone number is 0800 048 7642.  Their email address is [email protected]and their web address is www.abilitynet.org.uk.  And it is all free-of-charge!

You may also find in the area where you live a friendly computer club with people who are willing to help – talk to your local council.