Re: NetBSD install and usage by the blind

[mlelstv%serpens.de@localhost (Michael van Elst)]

arthompson1990%gmail.com@localhost (Adam Thompson) writes:

>As a long-time user of unix-like systems (primarily Linux, with a few others as
>well) I'm interested in setting up a machine with NetBSD.  However I'm blind and
>can't find any examples of either accessibility options in the installer or an
>automated installation method wich isn't for Qemu or Xen.

Installation usually requires access to a console, and the default PC
console is a physical keyboard and VGA display. I'm not aware of any
easy solution to make that accessible and googling for BIOS access
for blind people didn't reveal anything either.

Some PCs have remote management support (e.g. ILO for HP servers
or Intel AMT). But these usually provide some graphical user interface
or web interface only. Nothing you could easily make accessible.

So that leaves a serial console as a possibility. For this the PC
needs a real serial port, a USB<->serial adapter is not enough.

If you have a serial console you need an install CD that is configured
for serial console. Or if you have a network, you can create a PXE
boot server and configure the PXE bootloader to use a serial console.

The installer works from a serial console. It does have a full screen
display, nothing command like. But I think that is something you
can use.

Saying this. It's probably not much work to create a version of the
install system that does a DHCP network configuration and starts sshd.

Greetings,
-- 
-- 
                                Michael van Elst
Internet: mlelstv%serpens.de@localhost
                                "A potential Snark may lurk in every tree."