Getting Involved

[Shervin Emami]

Hi Benson,

For around 8 years now I've been using speech recognition for many hours
per day to control KDE desktop, since that is my main way of working
despite having chronic RSI. Since my background is in robotics & AI, I've
tried many different alternative interfaces, and gave a talk specifically
for Linux (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aQfwS5pyrg)

If you're mostly interested in dictation, you should consider OpenAI
Whisper, because it's possibly the most reliable ASR engine at the moment
but also importantly it has very good ASR support for many different
languages and dialects and accents, whereas most ASR is targeted for USA
and UK English.

Whisper doesn't have an interface for directly dictating into applications
though. And it's not able to do any commands. I currently use the
open-source Faster-Whisper for dictation (with my own code for typing into
applications), and the open-source Kaldi-Active-Grammar + Dragonfly for
typing commands including for programming / typing things on the terminal
or controlling the mouse. (
https://dragonfly.readthedocs.io/en/latest/kaldi_engine.html)
It's not a clean solution though, the interaction I've set up between Kaldi
and Whisper is quite hacky. But proves that it is very possible!

Talon ASR (free but closed-source at https://talonvoice.com/) has a
community that have been slowly working towards better interaction with the
desktop by voice, they are making excellent solutions for Windows & Mac
where user interface elements have a standardised API. But they say Linux
has been a nightmare to have anything close to a standardised way of
knowing which UI elements are on the screen. And Wayland pretty much
doesn't allow interaction with the screen at all! So unfortunately
Talon has a community of eager developers that want to improve usability of
speech recognition on Linux, but they have basically given up on Linux
recently due to these 2 issues.

Cheers,
Shervin Emami.



On Wed, 4 Jun 2025 at 16:38, Bridger Reed-Lewis <bridgerreedlewis at gmail.com>
wrote:

> K I’m going to get those setup, should I only do one or all?
>
> On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 22:23 Benson Muite <benson_muite at emailplus.org>
> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Jun 4, 2025, at 9:09 AM, Bridger Reed-Lewis wrote:
>> > Thank you, I wasn't aware of those barriers. While I am aware that the
>> > university has strict rules around applications. I believe there could
>> be a
>> > way to get around it, if it's used in an educational and
>> > collaborative environment. The person I need to check with about this,
>> I am
>> > going to send them an email tomorrow since it's pretty late. Oh, and I
>> > tried accessing the IRC and Matrix but the channel isn't accepting
>> anyone
>> > else, is there a way for me to get around that? I think it'd be a lot
>> > easier then email
>>
>>
>>
>> For Matrix, accounts on other servers will allow you to access rooms on
>> the
>> kde matrix server. In addition to
>>
>> https://matrix.org/docs/chat_basics/matrix-for-im/#creating-a-matrix-account
>> ,
>> you could also make an account on one of the servers listed at:
>> https://servers.joinmatrix.org/
>>
>> https://apps.kde.org/neochat/
>> maybe helpful, in addition to other Matrix clients.
>>
>> For irc make an account at http://libera.chat
>> https://apps.kde.org/konversation/
>> maybe helpful, though there are many other choices for IRC clients.
>>
>> >
>> > On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 10:03 PM Benson Muite <
>> benson_muite at emailplus.org>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> On Wed, Jun 4, 2025, at 8:49 AM, Bridger Reed-Lewis wrote:
>> >> > Well I don’t think it would be useful particularly for UAA, it’s
>> just I
>> >> > feel a collaboration could be set up depending on the person. And
>> with
>> >> > everything going on federally, a lot of folks at my work are pretty
>> mad,
>> >> > it’s the reason why I got my article. What I’m going to do is reach
>> out
>> >> to
>> >> > the engineers/tech departments, to see if anyone is interested in
>> working
>> >> > on this project. Along with connecting with student clubs, I am also
>> >> going
>> >> > to install and test what I can with the applications you sent.
>> >>
>> >> Thanks.
>> >>
>> >> >
>> >> > Oh, about the mentoring program you mentioned. I don't think it's a
>> good
>> >> > fit for me since I have dyscalculia. I've tried with no luck to learn
>> >> > coding. It's just not my thing, what it would be testing along with
>> >> setting
>> >> > up times to chat around ideas, along with networking which i am scary
>> >> good
>> >> > at.
>> >>
>> >> We do use mailing lists, apps also have chat channels, typically on
>> Matrix
>> >> or IRC.
>> >> For Season of KDE, making students and people new to open source aware
>> of
>> >> it
>> >> would be helpful.  It provides a structured way for people to
>> contribute
>> >> improvements
>> >> to software that they use, these need not be limited to coding
>> >> contributions.
>> >>
>> >> In the US, many applications require accessibility testing reports
>> before
>> >> they can be
>> >> used in an institution.  This can be a barrier to adopting open source
>> >> software since
>> >> the administrative burden of procuring software which has accessibility
>> >> testing done
>> >> is low compared to getting open source software and improving it to
>> meet
>> >> accessibility
>> >> standards for which the financial cost would likely be ultimately
>> lower,
>> >> thereby allowing
>> >> institutions to make more effective use of their limited funds.
>> >>
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 21:37 Benson Muite <
>> benson_muite at emailplus.org>
>> >> > wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> On Wed, Jun 4, 2025, at 7:58 AM, Bridger Reed-Lewis wrote:
>> >> >> > I have heard of him, and it’s one of the reasons why I want to get
>> >> >> > involved, at the moment I don’t think the university allows Linux
>> to
>> >> be
>> >> >> > used, but I could be wrong. At the moment, I am running KDE on my
>> >> Steam
>> >> >> > Deck. But I’m planning on purchasing a think-pad x1 carbon Gen 10
>> >> soon.
>> >> >> One
>> >> >> > area I’d like to see get added is dictation. There's an abandoned
>> >> project
>> >> >> > here --> https://github.com/abb128/LiveCaptions that could be
>> forked
>> >> >> into a
>> >> >> > simple dictation tool, it's surprisingly, very accurate.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> This seems to build on another library which maybe worth
>> incorporating
>> >> into
>> >> >> KDE applications:
>> >> >> https://github.com/abb128/april-asr
>> >> >>
>> >> >> There are ongoing discussions withing KDE about using tools trained
>> on
>> >> >> data of unknown origin.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Outside of that, I would need to look because right now there's
>> not a
>> >> >> lot,
>> >> >> > and disability itself is a spectrum. without seeing what you are
>> >> already
>> >> >> > working on, giving feedback might be hard. But I am more than
>> willing
>> >> to
>> >> >> > test anything you can give me, as long as you make the install
>> process
>> >> >> easy
>> >> >> > or give me command props.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> KDE applications are listed at:
>> >> >> http://apps.kde.org
>> >> >> Some will work on Windows and Mac. Applications that might be
>> useful in
>> >> a
>> >> >> university
>> >> >> setting include:
>> >> >> - https://apps.kde.org/labplot/
>> >> >> - https://apps.kde.org/ktechlab/
>> >> >> - https://apps.kde.org/accessibilityinspector/
>> >> >> - https://apps.kde.org/krita/
>> >> >> - https://apps.kde.org/okular/
>> >> >> - https://apps.kde.org/kdenlive/
>> >> >> - https://apps.kde.org/digikam/
>> >> >> - https://apps.kde.org/glaxnimate/
>> >> >>
>> >> >> It seems there are faculty members familiar with open source
>> software:
>> >> >> https://pradeeban.github.io/
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Maybe you could contact them to see if there are ways to also
>> involve
>> >> >> students in
>> >> >> improving software accessibility?  Season of KDE (
>> >> >> https://mentorship.kde.org/sok/)
>> >> >> would be one structured way to do this for KDE software that is
>> useful
>> >> at
>> >> >> UAA.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Krita, Kdenlive and Glaxnimate may also be useful to people in your
>> art
>> >> >> department:
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >>
>> https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/departments/art
>> >> >> and to the student clubs in the art department:
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >>
>> https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/departments/art/clubs/
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Finally, in terms of testing, is there a KDE application you use and
>> >> would
>> >> >> be willing to help
>> >> >> test? One-off contributions are welcome, but sustained involvement
>> is
>> >> most
>> >> >> helpful.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > On Tue, Jun 3, 2025 at 20:28 Benson Muite <
>> benson_muite at emailplus.org
>> >> >
>> >> >> > wrote:
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> On Tue, Jun 3, 2025, at 11:15 AM, Bridger Reed-Lewis wrote:
>> >> >> >> > Good evening, I am interested in becoming a tester, and help
>> >> >> collaborate
>> >> >> >> > together on ideas to ensure accessibility in future kde
>> iterations.
>> >> >> Nate,
>> >> >> >> > one of the board members, let me know about your sub-group,
>> and I
>> >> >> >> emailed a
>> >> >> >> > few folks listed as contacts. Just didn't hear back, figuring
>> >> reaching
>> >> >> >> out
>> >> >> >> > directly to this email would be more effective.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Before getting involved though, I should introduce myself. I
>> am the
>> >> >> >> > disability advisor for The University of Anchorage Alaska, and
>> >> while
>> >> >> I am
>> >> >> >> > doing this on my own time. I do hope to get the university
>> involved
>> >> >> since
>> >> >> >> > we have a very active disability, and accessibility work
>> groups at
>> >> >> UAA.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Recently, the university wrote a article about me which goes in
>> >> detail
>> >> >> >> > about myself you can read about it here...
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >>
>> https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/news/archive/2025/05/chd-disability-advisor-bridger-r-reed-lewis.cshtml
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > I'm very passionate about what I do, and I believe Steam OS as
>> a
>> >> whole
>> >> >> >> > could be a massive benefit to ensure a better market share,
>> this
>> >> comes
>> >> >> >> with
>> >> >> >> > some challenges though because while steam os is great for
>> gaming,
>> >> >> once
>> >> >> >> > it's released to the masses later this year.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > The OS as a whole will have some disadvantages mainly the lack
>> of
>> >> >> >> > accessibility tools, which as someone with a disability has
>> been
>> >> the
>> >> >> >> > largest reason they haven't moved fully to linux. Ended up on
>> Macs
>> >> >> >> because
>> >> >> >> > of how much i hate windows, but once thing apple has about
>> them is
>> >> >> there
>> >> >> >> > gold star for supporting disabilities in there OS.
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> Thanks for your interest. Are there any KDE applications that
>> you use
>> >> >> where
>> >> >> >> support could be better?  Do you have any computer labs where
>> linux
>> >> is
>> >> >> used
>> >> >> >> or KDE applications are used?
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> KDE e.V. recently appointed Ritchie Frodomar as accessibility
>> >> engineer:
>> >> >> >> https://mail.kde.org/pipermail/kde-community/2025q2/008193.html
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > I also want this in Linux, and I'm here to help along
>> >> >> >> > with assisting with networking with professionals to ensure
>> >> >> >> communications
>> >> >> >> > and collaboration with developers/companies alike. Let me know
>> if
>> >> you
>> >> >> >> have
>> >> >> >> > any questions, and I hope to chat with you soon.
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Sincerely,
>> >> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> > Bridger R. Reed-Lewis
>> >> >> >> > Disability Advisor | Advocate | Speaker
>> >> >> >> > He/Them
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >>
>>
>
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