The Emmabuntüs Collective is pleased to announce the release, on December 15, 2025, of the new Emmabuntüs Debian Edition 6 1.00 64-bit, based on Debian 13.2 “Trixie” and featuring the Xfce/LXQt desktop environments.
This new version of our distribution mainly focuses on accessibility improvements, developed as part of our collaboration with our friends at A.S.I. YOVOTOGO and the “Togolese Federation of Associations of Persons with Disabilities” (FETAPH). The goal is to soon equip specialized centers for people with visual impairments across Togo including the Saint Augustine Multipurpose Center in Lomé and the Maison du Handicap initiated by Mutualistes Sans Frontières.
These advancements were made possible thanks to the work and valuable feedback of our blind and visually impaired volunteers: Stéphane, Philippe, Gloupy, and Qid. We warmly thank them for their tests, their experience, and their suggestions for improvement.
The deployment of this version in Togo will begin in early January 2026, with initial training provided by our friends Jean-Pierre and Elias, and ongoing maintenance handled by the Togolese association JUMP Lab’Orione.
The new accessibility features are activated only at the user’s request, through a dedicated interface, so as not to disrupt our long-time users.
Corrections and Improvements in version 1.00
System Base and General Features
- Based on Debian 13.2
- Default sound volume set to 50%
- Added a Wine installation script
- Removed Deborah, which was non-functional
- Replaced ZuluCrypt-GUI with LuckyLUKS
- Fixed the locale bug and re-enabled country and timezone selection — many thanks to arpinux
- Fixed encrypted system installation under Calamares
- Improved encrypted system installation under Classic Debian
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Updated components: Firefox-ESR 140.6.0esr, Thunderbird 140.5.0esr, Ventoy 1.1.09, CTparental 5.3.01-1m, Turboprint 2.59-1, Debian Beginner’s Handbook 13.1
Accessibility Improvements and Enhancements
- Redesigned the accessibility window using YAD to enable speech synthesis during navigation
- Added MBROLA and Piper speech synthesizers
- Added support for three Orca profiles
- Added an accessible window for unmounting USB drives for blind users
- Added an insertion beep for USB drives in accessibility mode
- Added Caja for desktop management in accessibility mode
- Added LIOS (Linux-Intelligent-OCR-Solution)
- Added KDE Connect
- Added a script displaying laptop battery level
- Added a script to install Index Braille embossers
- Added information about shortcuts in the accessibility icons
- Added scripts to disable/restore the desktop background for visually impaired users
- Added scripts to disable/restore boot splash screens for visually impaired users
- Added espeakup to enable speech synthesis with the screen reader in Linux console mode (TTY)
- Added nmap for detecting printers on the local network
- Improved Braille display support
- Improved the system update script
- Standardized the use of the selected speech synthesizer
- Modified 6-dot shortcuts to launch LibreOffice and Geany
- Removed TuxType, which was non-functional in accessibility mode
- Redesigned the accessibility manual, in both French and English
- Updated the shortcut manuals, in both French and English
These accessibility improvements will be included in the next update of our Emmabuntüs Debian Edition 5, which will be released early next year to support the continued refurbishment of 32-bit computers.
This version will be available starting December 15, 2025, from our website at emmabuntus.org, or directly from the link download.emmabuntus.org.