A Brutal Murder Attempt of ORCA

After the Oracle's acquisition of Sun, one of the first decisions to make was to fire Willie Walker, the ORCA project lead. ORCA is a Linux based screen reader, which became very famous and popular among visually impaired people. Sun had a strong commitment to support ORCA in so many ways to offer screen reader users another option, a wider choice of operating systems.

While it is practically possible to use Linux with screen readers, in the past it had been very difficult, many people used a terminal solution and accessed their Linux machine through another computer. ORCA made it possible to directly use a Linux machine, and eventually got it to a point where visually impaired people could use it as their primary system.

What the ORCA team had done was absolutely outstanding. Primarily they focused on the users, not on a preset plan that cannot be changed. The users voices always counted, the team was in a constant dialog with people who had to rely on a Linux machine in their daily lives.

No matter where I went, Willie Walker was somewhere there. At conferences, on the ORCA mailing list, and he was always quick to give a hand. He wrote code, he answered technical questions, and he was out there at conferences demoing a talking Linux machine to the complete beginner. He did not only make a living on the project, he was a true believer of it, the kind of person whom you want to hire to represent your company and your product. Now he is looking for work.

Over the last several years I was asked many times to offer a low-cost solution for blind people to use the computer, especially in developing countries. It has always been obvious that a low-cost system does not consist of the expensive computer, the $1000 screen reader and the additional software that they can purchase. Linux was the right choice, which only required a computer with an internet connection, and people were ready to get started. Especially these days as the Netbooks started to flood the market. From the price of a computer, blind people in developing countries were able to work, to participate in digital entertainment, to enhance their chances to be employed.

I'm not saying that this was the only solution, but by all means, the best one. I am also not trying to hint that this is the end of it. With such a support that ORCA enjoyed, maybe somebody will continue funding it, and as it is an open source solution, maybe the project will have volunteers.

But what Sun's support meant on the project was that it was a dependable and reliable effort. We all knew that with Willie Walker's and his team's dedication this work will move on, as the funding was given. We all knew that next time we see Will at a conference, he will have something new to show us.

Just after we heard the bad news, we don't know what the future holds. I cannot recommend a Linux/ORCA solution anymore, not knowing that it will be cared for at the pace it was before. I am not sure what should I tell those people to whom I recommended that this is the way to go, because it will only get much better, and it's happening fast.

If you care for this project, if you want it to succeed, please have your voice heard. Please bookmark, forward, tweet and talk about either this message, or anything else that will bring attention to the ORCA project. A good start is the open letter of Joanmarie Diggs to Oracle.