Re: [orca-list] Considering Linux but Need Advice

[Al Sten-Clanton <albert e sten_clanton verizon net>]

I think Alex has given some pretty good advice.  I want to note a couple 
of things, though.

Debian has some good documentation that is easy to find on its site, 
including at least some of the books Alex may have had in mind.

Arch is not aimed at new users, but last I looked it had a good deal of 
high-quality documentation that I think could help a lot with the 
learning curve.  It certainly helped me, though I was not quite a novice.

One problem I have with Arch is that its package descriptions are mere 
summaries; there is no long description, as there is with Debian's or 
Fedora's software-updating tools.  I've sometimes found this a notable 
nuisance when I wanted to determine whether or not to install a piece of 
software.

I like Fedora's updating software, rpm and dnf, a bit better than 
Debian's dpkg, apt-get, and aptitude, although these tools have their 
considerable virtues.  Unlike Debian and Arch, however, Speakup, the 
screen reader for the text console, is not automatically available with 
Fedora:  you can get it, but it's extra trouble.  Also, I've had more 
trouble finding its documentation:  sometimes it has almost been a 
breeze, sometimes impossible to find, depending on I don't know what. 
Even with that said, however, I may return to it for reasons Alex mentioned.

I hope this helps a little.

Al

On 8/28/2015 3:15 PM, Alex Midence wrote:
> Hi.
>
> I'll be brief but, hopefully thorough enough for your purposes:
>
>   I recommend either Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora or Arch Linux pretty much in that order as mainstream 
> distributions to try.  Opensuse is supposed to be another good choice.  Here are some pros and cons of each.  
> Not exhaustive and somewhat subjective.
>
> 1.  Ubuntu:  User-friendly, great hardware support and quite accessible out of the box.  Con is that the 
> default desktop Unity is very uncommon in other Linux distributions so, you won't be able to have a truly 
> standardized experience (if there is such a thing for Linux anyway.)
> 2.  Debian.  Very stable and great accessibility.  You won't get the latest and greatest but what you get is 
> very reliable. There are also tons of books out there you can buy which teach you Linux and use Debian as an 
> example OS.
> 3.  Fedora.  Very up to date but quite accessible.  Orca is actually developed in large part on this platform 
> as is Gnome, the desktop of choice.  It is also a Redhat derivative which means that if you learn it well, 
> you have a marketable skill if you ever want to get into an employment position with stuff like webhosting, 
> server administration and that sort of thing.  Plenty of Linux books use Fedora for their examples.  I know 
> Running Linux, Linux Cookbook, Linux in a nutshell and Linux Server Administration do for a certainty. All of 
> these are available via bookshare if you are interested.
> 4.  Archlinux.  Bleeding edge software and quite accessible since you do a lot of the work yourself to build 
> your system.  Vibrant a11y community of pretty diehard fans.  I, personally don't recommend Arch for new 
> users since it's reported to have a steep learning curve but others may differ with me on it.
>
> As far as desktops go, I like Gnome3, Mate and Unity pretty much in that order.  I'm quite sure others will 
> get into particulars with you on that though.  Each one of these desktops is available for installation on 
> all the above mentioned distributions even if it is not the default.
>
> I hope you enjoy trying Linux out and find it useful enough to keep it around.  It's got a lot to offer.
>
> Best regards,
> Alex M
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: orca-list [mailto:orca-list-bounces gnome org] On Behalf Of Lee Jones
> Sent: Thursday, August 27, 2015 3:11 PM
> To: orca-list gnome org
> Subject: [orca-list] Considering Linux but Need Advice
>
> Dear List,, I am considering giving linux a go, but I lack understanding of the platform.  What are the most  
> orca accessible mainstream distributions of linux?  Is vinux more accessible than the mainstream stuff?  What 
> does orca master mean and how do you access it?  Is the gnome desktop environment more accessible than the 
> unity desktop environment?  I think the only pre installed linux laptops I can find in the uk run ubuntu.  I 
> would be grateful for any advice you can give me.
>
> Kind Regards, Lee
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