Adept1: Open Source Accessibility for Linux

Thanks to Kestrell at Reading in the Dark for turning me on to this open source accessibility solution for Linux. She writes, “I am really excited about this. Adept1 is the accessible Linux OS I have been beta testing for the past year or so. It is accessible through both keyboard and voice, and the Adept1 includes all sorts of templates for creating bibliographies and other business and research materials. Additionally, you can exit out of the Adept1 interface in order to work directly from the Linux shell prompt. It also works with Daisy ebooks and Bookshare. Lots of good stuff is packed into this OS.”

Free Software Version of Adept1 Assistive Technology Product

Amazability, Inc. seeks to provide persons with visual impairment and other disabilities products which have the lowest cost possible and which meet people’s access needs. We have been developing the Adept1 assistive technology product since 2002. Part of the work has been done with support from the United States Department of Education, as outlined at http://www.amazability.com/about.htm, and has included the design and implementation of a series of applications and activities intended to work with speech. Command interaction may be done with a mix of voice recognition and keyboard input with all activities designed to work in a similar manner with a minimum of voice or keyboard commands needed to carry out complex actions. A word processor, email with address book, a web browser, and an online library of books, reference works, and other items are available. The Adept1 may be used for all types of programming where software can be developed, debugged, and run by those who wish to use the Adept1 as a talking workstation. See the Amazability, Inc. homepage http://www.amazability.com where there is a link to a Google Tech Talk that includes, in the latter half, a demonstration of the Adept1.

Amazability, Inc. is preparing to offer a free software version of the Adept1 under the terms of the GNU General Public License – GPLv3 – as described at http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/gpl.html

Amazability, Inc. plans to provide the free software version with publicly available speech engines while at the same time making its proprietary version, described in the Company’s website, available under dual licensing.

As the free software version is prepared for publication, we are soliciting volunteers who would help in building a core group of developers whose task would be to complete and add to the free software version. Additional documentation to insure the successful transfer of technology and the future implementation of new features are near term goals. Longer term goals are to implement portable versions of the Adept1 and to provide a port of the technology from Linux to the Windows and Mac OS X environments.