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RE: [Accessibility] [Access-activists] Call to Arms


From: Sina Bahram
Subject: RE: [Accessibility] [Access-activists] Call to Arms
Date: Tue, 3 Aug 2010 14:43:43 -0400

One quick correction, just for factual consistency, it's called Eloquence  on 
Windows and in the mobile space.

Take care,
Sina

-----Original Message-----
From: address@hidden [mailto:address@hidden On Behalf Of T.V.
Raman
Sent: Monday, August 02, 2010 9:20 PM
To: address@hidden; address@hidden; address@hidden; address@hidden; 
address@hidden
Subject: [Accessibility] [Access-activists] Call to Arms

Interestingly enough, I pretty much received the same response from the FSF  to 
the emacspeak work in 1995 -- because "Emacspeak
used a commercial text-to-speeh engine on Linux" -- at the time, there were no 
free engines available, and though today hat
situation has changed some with the availability of the espeak engine, most 
blind users would abandon linux if espeak were their
only choice. As I type this, I'm still using aDecTalk -- the
engine that irked RMS 15  years   ago:-) on my laptop I use a
commercially available TTS  engine commonly known in the Windows world  as 
Eloqunt -- and available on Linux from Voxin.
--
Best Regards,
--raman

--
Best Regards,
--raman


On 8/1/10, Eric S. Johansson <address@hidden> wrote:
>   On 8/1/2010 1:59 PM, Richard Stallman wrote:
>>      >  What is so difficult about sticking to our principles?
>>
>>      I  am sticking to my principles.
>>
>> I have not asked you to do anything that goes against your principles.
>> If your principles are incompatible with working in the GNU Project,
>> you don't have to do it.
>
> yes you have richard, you want me to put the need for free software before
> the
> needs of disabled users. my path leads users to ever freer environments.
> your
> path rejects them because they are not pure and then expects them to reverse
> course after they have invested heavily in nonfree solutions. the religious
> conversion path only works if you can execute or punish all nonbelievers.
> the
> slow path is a much bigger win re: linux, gnome, openoffice,...
>
>> You are persistently trying to make the GNU Project abandon its
>> principles, and you criticized me for finding it "difficult" to depart
>> from them.  That is insulting and hostile.
>
> insulting and hostile?? I am not asking you to abandon you principals, I am
> asking you to look at the bigger picture. accessibility is bigger than free
> software while at the same the code must be free for maximum social benefit.
> your principals are a subset of mine.
>
> I have treated you with respect, irritation, humor, and even kindness. I
> have
> put up with your unwillingness to see other points of view. I have offered
> compromises and received none in return.
>
> you have driven me, a long term supporter away. I see how the fsf principals
> while beneficial to freeing software are actively harmful to addressing
> social
> needs. I leave you with a few quotes from the fsf web page and questions
> they raise.
>
> from the fsf web site:
>
> """Free software is simply software that respects our freedom - our freedom
> to
> learn and understand the software we are using. """
>
> does this mean that if you are disabled and prevented from using nonfree
> software in conjunction with free software, that the disabled are denied
> this
> and other fsf supported rights??
>
> """Free software is designed to free the user from restrictions put in place
> by
> proprietary software,"""
>
> does this mean that fsf principals should be used to force disabled people
> to
> live under the restrictions put in place by proprietary software *and* the
> fsf?
>
> """Enter the free software movement: groups of individuals in collaboration
> over
> the Internet and in local groups, working together for the rights of
> computer
> users worldwide, creating new software to replace the bad licenses on your
> computer with community built software
> <http://www.fsf.org/working-together/systems/> that removes the restrictions
> put
> in place and creates new and exciting ways to use *computers for social
> good*.""" (emphasis mine)
>
> except if you are disabled and need a nonfree component to move to a more
> free
> world?
>
> good night all. feel free to email me directly after this letter hits the
> list.
>
>
>
>

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