
        ZipSpeak 7.1-1 (standard): A Talking Mini-Distribution of Linux
                                       
   Built by [1]Matthew Campbell
   June 26, 2000
   
   ZipSpeak is a talking mini-distribution of Linux for blind and
   visually impaired people, based on version 7.1 of the [2]ZipSlack
   distribution and version 0.09a of the [3]Speakup screen reader.
   ZipSpeak is designed to be easily installed on an existing MS-DOS or
   Windows system, so that the user can start using a talking Linux
   system with little difficulty and without help from someone who can
   see.
   
   The standard version of ZipSpeak consists of a ZIP file which contains
   the main distribution; a set of Linux kernels, one for each supported
   speech synthesizer; a set of boot disk images for these kernels, along
   with an image that doesn't include Speakup; a utility for making boot
   disks from these images; and some documentation. There are also
   customized versions of ZipSpeak in which the appropriate kernel for a
   specific speech synthesizer is included in the ZIP file, and the boot
   disk for that synthesizer is the only incldued talking boot disk. A
   customized version for any supported synthesizer is available on
   request from me.
   
   You must have one of the following speech synthesizers to use
   ZipSpeak; you can't use it with only a sound card.
     * Accent PC
     * Accent SA
     * Apollo 2
     * Audapter
     * Braille and Speak
     * DECtalk Express
     * DECtalk External (older)
     * DoubleTalk LT or LiteTalk
     * DoubleTalk PC
     * Speakout
     * Transport
       
   To install ZipSpeak, first follow the standard ZipSlack installation
   procedure explained in README.1st. The only difference is that in this
   case, the ZIP file is named ZIPSPEAK.ZIP, not ZIPSLACK.ZIP.
   
   Now you need to select and install a talking kernel. There are
   currently eleven kernels provided with ZipSpeak, one for each
   supported synthesizer:
   
   acntpc
          Accent PC
          
   acntsa
          Accent SA
          
   apolo
          Apollo
          
   audptr
          Audapter
          
   bns
          Braille and Speak
          
   dectlk
          DECtalk Express
          
   decext
          DECtalk External
          
   dtlk
          DoubleTalk PC
          
   ltlk
          DoubleTalk LT or LiteTalk
          
   spkout
          Speakout
          
   txprt
          Transport
          
   Download the appropriate kernel for your synthesizer if you don't have
   it already, and copy it to \LINUX\VMLINUZ.SPK on the drive where you
   are installing ZipSpeak. Now follow the instructions in README.1st for
   starting the system. If you are running a DOS screen reader, you must
   unload it before starting Linuz.
   
   In addition to the standard LINUX.BAT file which you use to start
   Linux with Speakup, there is a file called LINUXNS.BAT which you can
   use to start Linux without Speakup. This file uses the standard kernel
   in \LINUX\VMLINUZ. It can be helpful if a sighted person wants to use
   your Linux system without speech, or if you want to use some other
   speech software like Emacspeak.
   
   ZipSpeak includes a talking boot disk for each supported synthesizer.
   Each boot disk's file name is the same as the name of the
   corresponding kernel except that the extension is .IMG. If you want to
   use the standard boot disk (without Speakup), it is called BOOTDISK.NS
   in ZipSpeak.
   
   Finally, once you have started the system, you can customize Speakup
   with the speakupconfig utility. This utility is pretty
   straightforward, but you can find a few notes about it in the
   /usr/doc/speakupconfig/README file. For greater control over your
   speech synthesizer, you can edit the /etc/speakup.conf file and then
   load it with loadspk. You can find loadspk documentation in the
   /usr/doc/loadspk directory. You can find additional Speakup
   documentation in the /usr/doc/speakup directory.
   
   If you have any questions or comments about ZipSpeak, please email me.
   
   --Matthew Campbell

References

   1. mailto:mattcamp@crosswinds.net
   2. http://www.slackware.com/zipslack/
   3. http://www.linux-speakup.org/
