4.1. Linux Distributions

This HOWTO assumes that you have already installed Linux on your system. If not, you may wish to refer to the "Linux Information Sheet" by Michael K. Johnson a http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/INFO-SHEET.html. It provides an introduction to Linux, discusses some hardware requirements, and also has a section on how to obtain Linux.

There are a number of different Linux distributions (distros) that you can choose from. All of the distros are based upon the same basic Linux code, or kernel, but each distro has a different installation process, features, and support options. Martin Wheeler's "Distributions HOWTO," at http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Distributions-HOWTO/index.html, discusses the pros and cons of a number of Linux distros. You can also find information about each distribution on their respective web sites. Those distros known to support Emacspeak are listed below with their URLs:

• Debian Linux - http://www.debian.org

• Mandrake Linux - http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/

• Red Hat Linux - http://www.redhat.com

• Slackware Linux - http://www.slackware.com

• SuSE Linux - http://www.suse.com

• TurboLinux - http://www.turbolinux.com

All of the distributions listed above can be downloaded free of charge from their respective web sites. However, the downloads are quite large, so you'll need a fast Internet connection. You will also need access to a CD burner, to burn your own CDs from the images you download. Depending on the distribution, you may also have to download and make a boot floppy. Once you have burned the CDs and created the boot floppy, you can install Linux. Alternatively, you can purchase the disks at your local computer store for between $30 and $80 US. Both of these options are discussed at length in the Linux Installation HOWTO at http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Installation-HOWTO/overview.html, so you may want to refer there before making a decision as to which route to take.

Most methods of installation require sighted assistance. However, if you prefer to install Linux yourself, there are two options. The first is to install Linux from a DOS machine running JAWS. This option requires two machines, a null modem cable, JAWS for DOS, and a hardware speech synthesizer. More information on this option can be found in, Appendix A. The second option is installing one of the distributions that includes a Speakup kernel patch. This option requires a Speakup-enabled distro and a hardware synthesizer. Speakup is a screen reader that is patched into the kernel, so it starts talking at boot and will speak during the entire installation. Currently, Speakup is supported on Debian, Red Hat 7.1, and Slackware. The Speakup option also requires you to download the CD images and make your own CDs. Refer to the Speakup home page at http://www.linux-speakup.org for instructions for this option.

For assistance with installing Linux, Eric Raymond's Linux Installation HOWTO, at http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Installation-HOWTO, is highly recommended reading. In the HOWTO, Eric discusses hardware requirements, choosing a distro, and installing your distro of choice. If Eric's HOWTO does not provide enough installation-specific information, you can refer to the documentation specific to your distribution, available at the URLs given in the distro list.

4.2. Emacs

Because Emacspeak is an Emacs subsystem, you must have Emacs installed for Emacspeak to work. Most distributions include Emacs by default, so it should be installed on your system when you install Linux.

If you do not have Emacs on your system or you want to check on the latest version of Emacs, refer to the Emacs homepage at http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/emacs.html. If you install Emacs on your own or choose to upgrade, be sure to install all of Emacs, including both the X and non-X versions (even if you do not plan to use X). Some Emacs applications depend on packages included in the X version, even if you use those applications in the non-X version of Emacs.

If you would like to learn more about Emacs and how to use it, an excellent place to start is the Emacs Beginner's HOWTO, by Jeremy D. Zawondy. It's available at http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Emacs-Beginner-HOWTO.html. There is also an online manual available at http://www.gnu.org/manual/emacs/index.html. Alternatively, you can try the built-in Emacs tutorial. To start the tutorial, type C-h t.

4.3. Background applications

Emacspeak depends on a number of applications. Because each Linux distribution comes with different applications, you may find that your distro does not quite have everything that Emacspeak needs to run properly. Therefore, before you install anything else, it is important to make sure you have all the necessary applications, as listed below.

• Tk, Tcl, and Tclx: Check to make sure you have these applications. If not, download and install the following rpms from http://www.rpmfind.net: tcl-8.3.2-7mdk, tk-8.3.2-7mdk, and tclx-8.3.2-7mdk.

• Lesstif: If you want to run the Graphical User Interface (GUI) versions of the ViaVoice sample programs, you'll need these packages. For Emacspeak, the Lesstif packages are only useful if you're running Xwindows, or if you want to use the GUI tools.

  Lesstif can be downloaded from either the Lesstif home page http://www.lesstif.org or Sourceforge http://sourceforge.net/projects/lesstif. Currently, the latest release of Lesstif is version 0.93.14; however, Marty Moore recommends using the 0.92.32 version. You can either download the gzipped tarball that contains all the necessary files or download the three individual packages (lesstif-mwm-0.92.32-1.i386.rpm, lesstif-clients-0.92.32-1.i386.rpm, and lesstif-devel-0.92.32-1.i386.rpm). If you choose to use the three individual files, be sure to use the --nodeps option when you unpack the RPMs to avoid dependancy errors.

• sndconfig: You will need to run this application from the command line to configure your sound card. At the command prompt, type sndconfig and follow the instructions.

  If your sound card is not recognized by sndconfig, refer to, Troubleshooting, for more information.

• stdiom: This package is only necessary if you are using ViaVoice as your synthesizer, or if you want to use auditory icons, and your sound card is not a multi-channel card.

  For information on auditory icons, refer to the Emacspeak User's Guide.

4.4. Speech Synthesizers

To produce speech output, you need two things: something to parse the information on the screen (Emacspeak), and something to produce the sounds you hear as output (a speech synthesizer). Emacspeak can use either a hardware or software synthesizer to produce sound output. Software synthesizers have the benefit of being either free or very inexpensive. Hardware synthesizers can run from $150 to $1600 or more, but they are typically easier to install than software synthesizers.

8.1. Requirments

For this process, you will need a machine with a working speech synthesizer and a terminal emulator program. For my test, I used a Windows 2000 machine and tried both Narrarator (which comes with Windows 2000) and JAWS for Windows v.3.5. For the terminal emulator, I used tried both Hyperterminal (which comes with Windows) and CRT (which can be downloaded from http://www.vandyke.com/products/crt). You will also need a second machine (on which to install Linux), a null modem cable, and a copy of your preferred Linux distribution on either floppy disk or CD-ROM.

8.2. Connecting the computers

To connect the two computers, you need a "null modem" cable. A "null modem" cable is a serial cable that connects ground to ground and transmits on each end to receive on the other. The cable that comes with the DOS applicationLapLink will work fine. The LapLink cable is particularly handy because it has both a 9 pin and a 25 pin connector on each end. Alternatively, you may be able to find a null modem cable at your local computer store, or you can have one made. If you choose to have one made, here are the required connections:

• For two 9 pin connectors, connect pin 2 (receive data) to pin 3, pin 3 (transmit data) to pin 2, and pin 5 (signal ground) to pin 5.

• For two 25 pin connectors, connect pin 2 (receive data) to pin 3, pin 3 (transmit data) to pin 2, and pin 7 (signal ground) to pin 7.

• For a 9 pin connector (first) to a 25 pin connector (second), connect pin 2 (receive data) to pin 2 (transmit data), pin 3 (transmit data) to pin 3 (receive data), and pin 5 (signal ground) to pin 7 (signal ground).

Once you have your null modem cable, you'll need to connect the two machines while both of them are off. It's easiest to use COM1 on both machines. Once you've got them connected, you're ready to start them up, as discussed in the next section

8.3. Installation

Once your machines are connected via the null modem cable, boot the DOS/Windows machine, then start the terminal emulation program. For my test, I tried both Hyperterminal (which comes with Windows 2000) and CRT (which can be downloaded from http://www.vandyke.com/products/crt. For some reason, the arrow keys did not work in HyperTerminal, making navigation within the HyperTerminal window impossible. However, the arrow keys (as well as Tab and Return) do work in CRT, so I recommend using CRT as your terminal emulator.

Set the terminal emulator for 9600 baud, no parity, eight data bits, 1 stop bit. If "Flow control" is an option, select Hardware. Also be sure to set your terminal emulation mode to VT100. Start the terminal emulator connection (you won't get any data at this point, as your Linux machine should still be off).

Once you've set up the terminal emulator on your DOS/Windows machine, insert the "boot" floppy or CD into your Linux machine and boot the machine. With Red Hat, at the boot: prompt, I typed in the command linux text console=ttyS0. Note that the "s" in "ttyS0" is capitalized, and that's a "zero" at the end of the string, not a capital letter "o." Other distributions may require other strings, so if you know the syntax required for distros other than Red Hat, please let me know and I will include that information here.

Once you've typed in this string at the boot: prompt and hit Return, you should get output in your terminal emulator program on your DOS/Windows machine. Unfortunately, at this point I discovered that neither JAWS for Windows nor Narrarator produces speech output in either the HyperTerminal or CRT terminal windows. This ultimately stymied my attempts to install Linux over a null modem cable.

9.1. Downloading ViaVoice

First, you must download the ViaVoice Software Development Kit (SDK) and the Run Time Kit (RTK), as described in the following steps.

1. Go to IBM's ViaVoice TTS website a http://www-4.ibm.com/software/speech/dev/ttssdk_linux.html.

2. Scroll down to the Downloads section, and click on the Downloads link. You will be asked to provide a username and password before you download anything.

3. Download the following files:

   • ViaVoice TTS SDK for Linux V5.1. The filename is viavoice_tts_sdk_5.tar.

   • ViaVoice TTS Run Time Kit for Linux V5.1. The filename is viavoice_tts_rtk_5.tar.

9.2. Installing ViaVoice RTK

Now that you have downloaded the ViaVoice files, you can install them. You must install the RTK first, as it contains libraries required by the SDK.

1. Type the su root command and provide the root password to log on to your system as root.

2. Type the cd command to change to the directory that contains the files you just downloaded.

3. Untar the RTK using the command tar -xvf viavoice_tts_rtk_5.tar. You should now have two files in your directory, ttsrt_readme.txt and ViaVoice_TTS_rtk_5.1-1.2.i386.rpm.

4. Unpack the rpm using the command rpm -i ViaVoice_TTS_rtk_5.1-1.2.i386.rpm. You will be given a license agreement to read. You can press the spacebar to scroll through the document. When you've read the document, you'll be returned to the command prompt.

5. Type the command source /etc/profile to finish installing the RTK.

9.3. Installing ViaVoice SDK

Now that you have installed the RTK, you can install the SDK as well using the following steps:

1. Change directories to the directory that contains the SDK file you downloaded.

2. Untar the SDK file using the command tar -xvf viavoice_tts_sdk_5.tar. You should now have two files in your directory, ttssd.readme.txt and ViaVoice_TTS_sdk-5.1-1.2.i386.rpm.

3. Unpack the rpm using the command rpm-i --nodeps ViaVoice_TTS_sdk-5.1-1.2.i386.rpm. You will be given a license agreement to read. You can press the spacebar to scroll through the agreement. When you've read the document, you'll be returned to the command prompt.

9.4. Testing the installation

Now that you have installed both the ViaVoice RTK and SDK, you must test to make sure that they are working correctly. You can perform two tests using the following steps:

1. Type the cd command to change to the /usr/lib/ViaVoiceTTS/samples/cmdlinespeak/ directory.

2. Type the command ./runcmdlinespeak at the prompt. You should hear your computer say "Hello, welcome to ViaVoice Outloud for Linux." Normal system volume is often very low, so you may not be able to hear it very well. Refer to, Troubleshooting, for information on how to increase your system volume.

If for some reason your test was not successful, refer to the installation notes provided with both the RTK (ttsrt.readme.txt) and the SDK (ttssd.readme.txt) for debugging information.