Vinux is a

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading on ...

which has been specially designed for

blind Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind' ...

and partially sighted users. Specifically it is a remastered version of the Ubuntu distribution and provides users with two

screen reader A screen reader is a form of assistive technology (AT) that renders text and image content as speech or braille output. Screen readers are essential to people who are blind, and are useful to people who are visually impaired, illiterate, or hav ...

s, two full-screen magnifiers, global font-size and colour changing facilities. The system also supports USB Braille displays. Vinux was originally developed in 2008 by Tony Sales, Technical Support at the

Royal National College for the Blind The Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) is a co-educational specialist residential college of further education based in the English city of Hereford. Students who attend the college are aged 16 to 25 and blind or partially sighted. T ...

Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a populatio ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was first listed on

DistroWatch DistroWatch is a website which provides news, distribution pages hit rankings, and other general information about various Linux distributions as well as other free software/open source Unix-like operating systems. It now contains information on ...

on 1 June 2010 as Vinux 3.0.

Features

Vinux allows blind and visually impaired computer users to install a version of Ubuntu independently. It includes

Orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

and magnifier), Speakup (a console screen reader),

Compiz Compiz () is a compositing window manager for the X Window System, using 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing desktop effects for window management. Effects, such as a minimization animation or a cube workspace, are implemented as ...

(a magnifier based on 3d technology), and support for Braille displays. Braille displays operate automatically when connected and support grade 1 and 2

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille display ...

. Vinux can run from a

live CD A live CD (also live DVD, live disc, or live operating system) is a complete bootable computer installation including operating system which runs directly from a CD-ROM or similar storage device into a computer's memory, rather than loading f ...

live USB A live USB is a portable USB-attached external data storage device containing a full operating system that can be booted from. The term is reminiscent of USB flash drives but may encompass an external hard disk drive or solid-state drive, tho ...

without making any changes to a current operating system. It can be installed to a USB or hard drive alongside a current operating system or as a complete replacement.Download Vinux 5.1
Softpedia Linux

References

External links

*
Vinux Build Scripts

Vinux Documentation
* Royal National College for the Blind Disability software Blindness equipment Ubuntu derivatives Linux distributions {{linux-distro-stub