Re: Goodbye Windows XP, i still get nistalgic over you.
Chris, all newer versions of Gnome come with the Orca screen reader installed. It is a core component of the Gnome desktop, and has been so for two or three years. The question is not if Gnome comes with Orca but if your distribution comes with Gnome and Orca. Some do and some don't.
It is totally possible to install Linux using the Orca screen reader. Some distributions such as Vinux and Sonar have the installer configured to bring up Orca as soon as the install disc is booted. Others like Ubuntu can bring up the talking installer with a hot key.
To load Orca it depends on the distribution in question, but the most Command way to load Orca is to press alt+f2 for the run dialog, type Orca, and press enter. On Vinux press alt+control+o to load Orca. I believe on Ubuntu 13.1-0 the command is super+alt+s to launch Orca. In any case once you decide on a Linux distribution and version finding out how to launch Orca a is pretty easy.
Dark, not sure where you have gotten your information, but installing programs on Linux is extremely simple. Especially, on the Ubuntu based distributions. Here is a classic example of installing something from Software Center.
Let's assume I want to install the Banshee media player for playing music, listening to podcasts, and a million other things the media player can do. I'll first open up Ubuntu Software Center, and then tab to the Sound and Video link. Next I will tab into the tree view of available applications and down arrow to Banshee. I'll hit enter on Banshee and it will bring up a dialog box which allows me to add, remove, or modify the program. In this case I want to install the program so I will check the various check boxes for Banshee and all the plugins I want and tab to the install button. It will prompt me for my admin password, I will type it in, and press enter on the authenticate button. Bingo, after that it will download and install the program. Nothing complicated abo ut it.
Now, of course I could have done that from the command line which would be faster, but requires a bit of more skill with the command line tools. I could have simplified that process by opening Gnome Terminal and typing something like
sudo apt-get install banshee
which would be quicker, but is not necessary if you want to do the install via the graphical user interface.
As far as flavors the word is distributions. All that means in plan English is there are different brands of Linux. In the Windows world there is only one brand of Windows, Microsoft, and regardless of what version you have XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, you are only dealing with on developer. Same goes with Mac OS X. There is only one brand of Mac OS X brands and it is Apple. In the Linux world there are literally a couple hundred different each of them have a different end user experience, come with different software bundles, different desktops, whatever. While that may seem overwhelming to you at first its actually not as complicated as it first sounds.
To begin with there are only a small handful of Linux distributions that include accessibility as a core component of the operating system. Ubuntu, Arch, Debian, and Fedora are some of the mainstream distributions that come with Orca etc. There are also some custom versions or brands such as Vinux and Sonar which are very good for a blind user just getting started.
As to your question about a shell its very simple. A shell is the command line environment used by the operating system. Most distributions or brands of Linux come with a command line environment or shell called Bash. However, that is unimportant at the moment because most things can be done from the graphical user interface be it Gnome, Unity, KDE, etc so using the shell is there if you want to do some advanced stuff but isn't necessary for a newby to know or use.
As far as trying Linux it is not necessary to walk into a computer shop or computer association to try it. Linux is free and all you have to do is download the disc image, burn it to a disc, and boot the disc. Many distributions such as Ubuntu, Sonar, and Vinux for instance can be run right off the CD or DVD which means you don't even have to install it to use it. So if you want to try Linux all you need is a DVD burner and a free disc image, and you are in business.
As to your point about too many wacky versions etc, not being straight forward, again this comes down to simple ignorance of what is out there. If you know someone who is themselves a Linux user, me for example, you don't need to do a lot of research etc to get up[ and running. As I said there are a few distributions such as Sonar especially made for the blind, and I would say that would be the best place to start learning Linux. After that you could change distributions or trial others to compare them and do more research once you knew more about what you were doing and lo oking for. However, it is nowhere as complicated and confusing as you are making it sound.
As for options to try it out first already covered. There are a number of ways to try Linux, but the most straight forward way is to download the DVD image, burn it, and try it right off the DVD. There are other ways such as booting it from a flash drive, installing Linux side by side with Linux, using VMWare, etc. However, using the CD/DVD image is the easiest way to get started.
As to your conundrum of upgrading verses getting a new operating system I have to honestly say there is no answers for your particular problem. What you really want is a newer updated version of XP which obviously does not exist. No matter what you choose it will come with pros and cons, and someone like myself can't make that decision for you since the value of upgrading or changing operating systems is entirely subjective.
I understand you want something better than you have, to get something
that improves upon the things you currently do, and to be honest that is not going to happen. All of the operating systems are pretty much equal in terms of browsing the web, reading/writing e-mails, playing music, composing office type documents, etc. It is a bit different from operating system to operating system and while it doesn't give you any major advantages upgrading or changing operating systems doesn't necessarily offer any serious disadvantages either. So I think you will have to look at different reasons to upgrade or switch.
For example, the cost of the operating system is one such thing to consider. Linux of course is free, but Mac OS with VoiceOver is also very affordable. Once you pay the high cost for the Mac upgrading it is a lot less than Windows in the long run because you save the cost on the operating system, screen reader, and other apps too. There are plenty of free apps for Mac so it is worth considering in terms of cost of ownership for the long term.
Another reason is security. I know you have not been too concerned about this issue, but it is extremely important. XP is a high security risk, especially with the new wave of ransom software attacks, and I think you would be better served with getting something more up to date and a bit more secure. It might not do all you want but I see it as better being safe than sorry. However, that is just my point of view.
URL: http://forum.audiogames.net/viewtopic.php?pid=157141#p157141
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