[BRLTTY] Simple Linux console for visually impaired student

[Didier Spaier]

Hello Tom,

You can try Slint that I maintain: https://slint.fr

The installer runs brltty from the inception and users are asked if they want to
keep it running in the installed system. They can choose to start the installed
system in a console or in graphical mode. Three desktops are proposed but they
are all optional.

The most recent ISO is always here:
https://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/slint-15.0/iso/

For more information feel free to PM me or to use one of the channels listed in:
https://slint.fr/en/support.html

Cheers,
Didier

On 10/14/25 21:35, Tom Kirby wrote:
> Hello,
> 
> I am a (sighted) Computer Science teacher based in the UK with a keen,
> interested and talented student who is 16 years old and visually impaired.
> He is confident with his existing braille devices, and one of them (a
> Mantis Q40) is supposed to work with brltty. (Unfortunately, his brand new
> HumanWare Monarch apparently can't do this, in spite of its amazing
> multi-line touch display *etc*.)
> 
> I'm trying to set up a laptop for my student with a simple Linux console,
> connected to his Mantis Q40. I have the use of a capable enough Lenovo
> laptop that I can do as I like with. My dream is to have him able to
> interact with the Linux console and - through it - to be able to write and
> run Python programs. I think that interacting with a console, shell etc.
> would be well within his capabilities, even though some of my sighted
> students struggle with this!
> 
> I don't need to have brltty start early in the boot sequence, as (for now)
> my student will have plenty of sighted help when using the laptop.
> 
> Getting up and running with brltty has been far from simple. Though I would
> consider myself pretty experienced with Linux, I've struggled to get brltty
> working on Mint, and I've found it pretty difficult on Arch as well.
> 
> Is there a distribution where brltty works pretty much out of the box? Or
> if not, is there a (simple) set of recommendations for getting it to work
> on a clean install of Arch?
> 
> Please excuse me if I'm asking something that could be answered with a
> simple Google. I've tried engaging with the brltty web pages, but there is
> a great deal in there and I don't know quite where to start and how much of
> it is current and relevant to what I am trying to achieve.
> 
> Thank you and best wishes
> 
> Tom
> 
> 
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