Newbie to linux and a question

[Linux for blind general discussion]

Ubuntu is a Debian Derivative, and while I haven't used it myself for
nearly a decade(I switched to vanilla Debian somewhere around 2010 or
2011, and have used Knoppix(another Debian derivative) as my
day-to-day OS since late 2012, it is my understanding that Ubuntu
often has some of the most divisive customizations in its default
setup compared to other distros in the Debian family.

That said, I really can't offer much advice on using Orca as I
essentially have no experience using it with a full Desktop
Environment or with applications other than Firefox, and I keep Orca
around solely because, in my opinion at least, Firefox+Orca provides a
better blind web experience than any text-mode web browser, which is a
real shame considering I can do everything else on a computer from the
command line.

I'd say give Knoppix a try, but when they stopped releasing a CD
version, they also stopped releasing official images that boot into
Adriane(Knoppix's blind accessibility suite) by default, and while you
only need to change one line of one text file within the .iso to make
Adriane the default boot option, the only means I know of for doing
this requires mounting the iso, copying the contents to a writable
folder, making the edit, and then building a new iso. And while I'm
willing to share the iso where I've already done this, its way too
large for any practical means of sharing files I know of. And while
Knoppix is great as a liveDVD, it does leave quite a bit to be desired
when installed to a hard disc.

-- 
Sincerely,

Jeffery Wright
Bachelor of Computer Science
President Emeritus, Nu Nu Chapter, Phi Theta Kappa.