TAVIP Masterclass on Using Linux
Episode 4, Feb 24, 09:31 PM
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This Masterclass on Linux was kindly prepared and presented by Ben Mustill-Rose on 19th February 2025, and Ben was introduced by TAVIP's Chair of Trustees, Tony Stockman.
The Masterclass looks at The Linux Operating System which powers everything from laptops to toasters, braille displays to coasters. You may have heard of the world’s most popular operating system if you follow technology related news, but what is it and how exactly do you get started?
Ben provides a whistle stop tour of Linux, starting with demystifying some common Linux jargon, looking at what different distributions (versions) of Linux are available and what the Linux accessibility landscape looks like. We then take a hands-on look at what using Linux feels like in practice using two different methods, and finish with a Question and Answer session.
Ben is a software engineer, maker and hacker in the good sense of the term. If that's all jargon to you, it's a polite way of saying that for nearly as long as he can remember he's spent way too much time trying to understand any piece of technology he can get his hands on, often making it do weird and wonderful things in the process.
For just under 10 years he's been a software engineer at the BBC where he currently writes apps for TV's. Outside of work he enjoys teaching children to code, building computers, and some running and swimming to get him away from the keyboard.
Tony Stockman has over 40 years’ experience of using various forms of assistive technology to study and work in education and industry as a visually impaired person. He has given short courses to members of TAVIP (or BCAB as it was at the time) and has attended its annual TechABreak event since the '80s. Much of his research as a university lecturer has been in the area of Human-Computer Interaction, often with a specific focus on accessibility for visually impaired people, ranging from access to spreadsheets through to improving interfaces for visually impaired audio engineers.
The Masterclass looks at The Linux Operating System which powers everything from laptops to toasters, braille displays to coasters. You may have heard of the world’s most popular operating system if you follow technology related news, but what is it and how exactly do you get started?
Ben provides a whistle stop tour of Linux, starting with demystifying some common Linux jargon, looking at what different distributions (versions) of Linux are available and what the Linux accessibility landscape looks like. We then take a hands-on look at what using Linux feels like in practice using two different methods, and finish with a Question and Answer session.
Ben is a software engineer, maker and hacker in the good sense of the term. If that's all jargon to you, it's a polite way of saying that for nearly as long as he can remember he's spent way too much time trying to understand any piece of technology he can get his hands on, often making it do weird and wonderful things in the process.
For just under 10 years he's been a software engineer at the BBC where he currently writes apps for TV's. Outside of work he enjoys teaching children to code, building computers, and some running and swimming to get him away from the keyboard.
Tony Stockman has over 40 years’ experience of using various forms of assistive technology to study and work in education and industry as a visually impaired person. He has given short courses to members of TAVIP (or BCAB as it was at the time) and has attended its annual TechABreak event since the '80s. Much of his research as a university lecturer has been in the area of Human-Computer Interaction, often with a specific focus on accessibility for visually impaired people, ranging from access to spreadsheets through to improving interfaces for visually impaired audio engineers.