Accessible Distros for a beginner?

[Linux for blind general discussion]

You don't need to know how to compile source code to start with any
distribution.

On Sat, 22 Aug 2020, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:

> Date: Sat, 22 Aug 2020 15:20:32
> From: Linux for blind general discussion <blinux-list at redhat.com>
> To: blinux-list at redhat.com
> Cc: blinux-list at redhat.com
> Subject: Re: Accessible Distros for a beginner?
>
> Hi everyone,
> Thank you so much for the diverse and informative replies. I really appreciate all the input. I still have to read through a few of the links that some of you sent but there are some interesting possibilities.
> So far, based on what I'm reading, I'm thinking maybe to start with either Stormux on the raspberry Pi, or Slint on a laptop. Debian could be a possibility, but as a beginner coming from Windows, I don't know how to compile source files yet lol. I like that Debian seems to have an accessibility installation. It seems to be a very popular Distro so it probably has a very active support community and if I were to walk into a local Linux organization I would likely get a lot of mainstream help with it whenever I run into an issue. But being a beginner coming from a Windows graphical desktop, I don't know if Debian would be a good place for me to start if I would need to already know how to compile source files. I took a look at the Debian installation manuals before I reached out to this list, and as a beginner, I was totally confused by the installation process. Its probably simple, but to me it seemed complicated, but thats probably because I'm so new to this.  I'm definitely open 
 to the possibility if I could figure out how to make an installation of it.
> I don't know if I would also need to compile source files for Slint when I'm getting started with the OS? But if Slint starts speaking out of the box more or less, maybe I would start with that. I like how many accessibility features Slint has. And if I wouldn't need to compile a lot of source files, maybe Slint would be a good choice.
> Kyle, you mentioned the Raspberry Pi 4 with Stormux. I'm very interested in this.
> Maybe the Raspberry Pi might be a good beginners platform because its an affordable streamline computing system that maybe I could start with, to really get a feel for Linux and then later if I want to, I could invest in a hardware compatible laptop to run Slint. Or maybe Debian once I understand how to compile source files. But maybe for a beginner that really doesn't know what I'm doing lol, maybe Stormux would be a nice lightweight Distro for me to get introduced to the basics. That way, if I have a difficult time figuring something out, or end up somehow completely messing up the system as a novice lol, its just a litttle card that I could reinstall the OS and explore things.
> I have never used a Raspberry Pi before, so please bear with me if these are some very obvious basic questions. But would it be possible to connect the Pi to a braille display?
> I am fine with speech, but it would be nice to be able to connect a braille display if I want to.
> Also, Stormux says it comes with MATE as a graphical desktop which I think is great, seeing as I am coming from the Windows environment. I am just wondering if Stormux will run things like Firefox for a browser?
> I ask this because I don't want to use Chromium or Chrome or anything remotely google related. Although I know Chromium is open source, I still much prefer Firefox or a Firefox fork.
> Also, can I run LibreOffice on it?
> If it can't run Firefox and LibreOffice then I might decide to go for Slint or Debian on a laptop.
> But that would be nice if it would run those programs as it seems like an interesting option for a beginner who is really unfamiliar with Linux setups.
> Sathyan, thanks for the Accessible Coconut recommendation. I've read about it somewhere but don't know much about it. I'll definitely look it up and read more about it to see if its something that I might like.
> Thanks so much to everyone who has replied and shared their suggestions with me.
> SL
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