I'm Looking for an Accessible and T2-Mac-Compatible Linux Distro
by MarjaE from LinuxQuestions.org on (#6DSYM)
I have a T2 Mac Mini, and am looking for a compatible, accessible, and usable operating system for it.
I have an older version of MacOS, but up-to-date versions of MacOS set off my migraines. I think itis because theyive dropped support for 1080p displays, and made text too faint and gray on these displays.
I also have Linux Mint installed on it, on an external disk. Among other issues, I canit get the built-in wifi working, and think I need a T2 version instead. https://wiki.t2linux.org/
I also tried Fedora T2, and I could somehow get the built-in wifi working, but accidentally deleted it while trying Mint.
I ran into way too much animation in the live usbs for Ubuntu T2 and Gentoo, and I don't think I have the exertise to use Arch T2 or EndeavorOS T2.
I can't use Lima or Parallels, because they require newer MacOS versions, let alone Asahi, which requires newer Mac hardware.
**Screens**
I get migraines from bright lights, flashing, smooth animation, and eye strain. I need to switch fonts, bolden them, and/or enlarge them to varying degrees. I need enlarge them more in dark mode than light mode, so I use a low-brightness monitor, in light mode, with brightness reduced, contrast reduced, and gain reduced. At times I also need to switch to grayscale or switch to different gamma curves.
I was able to block most animation in both Linux Mint and Fedora T2. The settings were scattered between Effects, Keyboard, and Accessibility.
I encountered uncomfortably faint font rendering in both systems, and migraine-inducing font rendering in Firefox on Linux Mint. I was able to more-or-less fix Firefox by editing my user css and adding a 1px blur behind all text.
I can only get Linux Mint to use certain Colorsync profiles. I would like a way to switch to grayscale, adjust gamma, etc. I am not interested in proper calibration here, I am interested in different contrast options.
**Sound**
I need to avoid voice-overs.
**Menus**
Both Linux Mint and Fedora rely on one big menu in the corner, and many, many, many sub-menus. Iid much prefer to have more smaller menus. I know there are apps that can add a more reasonable set, but defaulting to a more reasonable set would be better. I think MATE may be able to do that, but I don't think it can do some of the other things.
**Scrolling**
Linux Mint made it easy to set good, wide, always-visible scrollbars. Fedora did not. I think there may be a workaround using its theme css. I would also like grab scroll options, holding down the middle mouse button and dragging. I cannot use scrollwheels, trackballs, swipe gestures, etc.
**Keyboards**
Both Linux Mint and Fedora rely in the control key, which is way off in the corner. Iid like to be able to use command/windows/menu and fn keys for the same combos. Neither Linux Mint nor Fedora show active modifiers on the screen, which makes it much harder to use Sticky Keys or figure out why everything is suddenly going haywire.
Linux Mint only supports 4 keyboard layouts at a time. It also makes it inordinately hard to type hwair and thorn.
**Software**
In Fedora, Firefox kept freezing. I was unable to install Mozregression to test. I think it may be that the Fedora installer didn't set up a swap partition, but Firefox required one. In Linux Mint, Firefox had awful font rendering.
I havenit tested Thunderbird in either system, and donit want to lose incoming emails because they reached the wrong copy.
**Alternatives**
If I can get wifi working, Linux Mint will be adequate for a lot of my work. But the typing and scrolling issues leave it less than ideal. My current installation is a mess because of failed attempts to get wifi working.
If I can get scrollbars working, Fedora would also be adequate.
I'd prefer something better, if it exists.
I have an older version of MacOS, but up-to-date versions of MacOS set off my migraines. I think itis because theyive dropped support for 1080p displays, and made text too faint and gray on these displays.
I also have Linux Mint installed on it, on an external disk. Among other issues, I canit get the built-in wifi working, and think I need a T2 version instead. https://wiki.t2linux.org/
I also tried Fedora T2, and I could somehow get the built-in wifi working, but accidentally deleted it while trying Mint.
I ran into way too much animation in the live usbs for Ubuntu T2 and Gentoo, and I don't think I have the exertise to use Arch T2 or EndeavorOS T2.
I can't use Lima or Parallels, because they require newer MacOS versions, let alone Asahi, which requires newer Mac hardware.
**Screens**
I get migraines from bright lights, flashing, smooth animation, and eye strain. I need to switch fonts, bolden them, and/or enlarge them to varying degrees. I need enlarge them more in dark mode than light mode, so I use a low-brightness monitor, in light mode, with brightness reduced, contrast reduced, and gain reduced. At times I also need to switch to grayscale or switch to different gamma curves.
I was able to block most animation in both Linux Mint and Fedora T2. The settings were scattered between Effects, Keyboard, and Accessibility.
I encountered uncomfortably faint font rendering in both systems, and migraine-inducing font rendering in Firefox on Linux Mint. I was able to more-or-less fix Firefox by editing my user css and adding a 1px blur behind all text.
I can only get Linux Mint to use certain Colorsync profiles. I would like a way to switch to grayscale, adjust gamma, etc. I am not interested in proper calibration here, I am interested in different contrast options.
**Sound**
I need to avoid voice-overs.
**Menus**
Both Linux Mint and Fedora rely on one big menu in the corner, and many, many, many sub-menus. Iid much prefer to have more smaller menus. I know there are apps that can add a more reasonable set, but defaulting to a more reasonable set would be better. I think MATE may be able to do that, but I don't think it can do some of the other things.
**Scrolling**
Linux Mint made it easy to set good, wide, always-visible scrollbars. Fedora did not. I think there may be a workaround using its theme css. I would also like grab scroll options, holding down the middle mouse button and dragging. I cannot use scrollwheels, trackballs, swipe gestures, etc.
**Keyboards**
Both Linux Mint and Fedora rely in the control key, which is way off in the corner. Iid like to be able to use command/windows/menu and fn keys for the same combos. Neither Linux Mint nor Fedora show active modifiers on the screen, which makes it much harder to use Sticky Keys or figure out why everything is suddenly going haywire.
Linux Mint only supports 4 keyboard layouts at a time. It also makes it inordinately hard to type hwair and thorn.
**Software**
In Fedora, Firefox kept freezing. I was unable to install Mozregression to test. I think it may be that the Fedora installer didn't set up a swap partition, but Firefox required one. In Linux Mint, Firefox had awful font rendering.
I havenit tested Thunderbird in either system, and donit want to lose incoming emails because they reached the wrong copy.
**Alternatives**
If I can get wifi working, Linux Mint will be adequate for a lot of my work. But the typing and scrolling issues leave it less than ideal. My current installation is a mess because of failed attempts to get wifi working.
If I can get scrollbars working, Fedora would also be adequate.
I'd prefer something better, if it exists.