Peter Ross <Petros.Listig@fdrive.com.au> wrote:
I tried once an SSH client on an iPad but it gave me some errors when trying to connect to the Ubuntu box. I was not persistent enough to figure out why (I hate Apple devices with a passion because of the lock-up/lock-in and complete surveillance issues - but the kids' schools insist:-(
On the positive side, their accessibility (specifically, speech access to the operating system and the supplied applications, as well as support for braille displays) is very well done indeed. It's all included by default and even documented in the user's guide. Speech and braille access software included in the operating system is a feature that the Linux community has also enjoyed for years. In contrast, for Microsoft Windows users, it has always been supplied by third-party developers, traditionally at the user's expense (except for a basic screen reader that Microsoft now include, but which isn't regarded as an adequate substitute for the third-party tools). The accessibility APIs in Linux are also well designed and comparable to the best of those available for other operating systems. The difference, of course, is that they aren't consistently and properly implemented by GUI applications, especially where custom controls are concerned. If you're Apple (with a limited range of products under your control), standards such as accessibility API support can be enforced from the top down, but obviously that isn't possible in a more open and decentralized environment. I think the accessibility community is partly responsible here: those APIs aren't well documented, and you won't find good tutorials explaining how to use them.