Who am I? I am a totally blind woman who resides in Florida. I enjoy singing, socializing, gaming, reading, (surprise surprise), and learning new things, hence this series.
Setting The Scene
As anyone with some form of disability can tell you, there are times when our choice of tools is limited to what the majority of people use, or the most heavily funded because that's where the most work into accessibility will go. I have known what it is like to encounter inefficient systems or tools that make successfully completing tasks more difficult than it should be because they were what I knew. For us, learning a new thing is often harder than staying with what we know works. This is why before now, I've tended to stick to the standard, commonly taught, well-documented way of handling technical situations. I've relied mostly on my iPhone, and a standard Windows computer.
Then I met my partner, who was and is extremely knowledgeable in areas I had only barely heard of, such as Linux. At first, I was merely interested in looking in from the outside because he was passionate about it, but as I continued to observe him I became curious about trying Linux out for myself. I had some reservations though. Sure, I can navigate a Windows environment fairly easily... for things I need in day to day life like viewing and editing files, web browsing, email, and social networking applications. Sure, I know how to assess information I am given and I know not to believe everything I hear/read. But would I consider myself super tech savvy? Absolutely not. Still, I've decided to try putting Linux on a secondary computer and use it for a month because, as I said to my partner, "What have I possibly got to lose?"
Pre-Install Feelings
At the time of this post, I have not actually gone and installed Linux yet. I wanted to first articulate all of my thoughts about going into a change this drastic completely blind, (pun intended).
As mentioned above, I am somewhat nervous. Never have I put a program on my computer or phone that I didn't at least somewhat understand or have experience with first. I've seen how Linux can break in many different ways and I'm not used to actually needing to understand what errors mean. Furthermore, everything I've used in the past has an easy way to call for support if I need it. Yes, there is a community of Linux users, but it isn't like I can just call a number and someone will most likely know what my problem is after a simple explanation they've probably heard before.
That said, I'm also super excited! This will be a new adventure for me. I will get to improve my critical thinking skills because I'll need to figure out how to find the correct documentation when something doesn't work. I'll get to dive into a world that my partner has known for many years, and this experience will undoubtedly bring us closer together. I'll become a better problem solver as I figure out more effective ways to troubleshoot. I'll get to bring exposure to any bugs or hiccups I encounter, accessibility or otherwise, as a completely new user who's perhaps looking at things from a different angle than someone who would have a more concrete grasp on them. Finally, I get to try out a system that, at the end of the day, may end up replacing Windows as my primary OS for computer use.
So Many Options
The first thing I had to do when I made this decision was sit down and decide which distro I was going with. I've never made a technical choice like this more complicated than Apple or Android before, so the amount of distros to choose from was daunting in itself at first. Luckily for me, I'm not going into this alone. My partner gave me an objective list of pros and cons about different distros, including known accessibility limitations with each. It became a conversation between the two of us, with me asking questions about GNOME verses MATE, SELinux, Flatpack, and different accessibility tools. There was already so much to learn, and I hadn't even downloaded an iso yet! After close to an hour of consideration, I decided to go with Debian testing. It seemed like it would be the option that best fit my needs; it's more up to date than Debian Stable, but not the first place new changes go either. The desktop environment and configuration model appear to be easier for beginners than something like Void Linux or NixOS. For what I need out of a computer, it felt like the most logical option.
Final Thoughts
When I somewhat randomly brought up switching to Linux to my partner after seeing him use it for a while, I did not expect I would be documenting my experience if I went with it. That being said, I am eager to take you guys on this journey with me now that I've started. Maybe I'll make some experienced users roll their eyes, I'll certainly make some mistakes along the way, but at the end of the day, I'm trying something different. I'm putting myself in a potentially challenging situation and trying to grow from it. And who knows, maybe I'll help someone else one day too, someone who is pondering the idea of switching to Linux as a blind user and wants to see if there are any written accounts of it being done out there. In closing, I don't know where all of this will lead, but I'm prepared to jump in head first.
This post captures something that never gets talked about honestly in the Linux world — that overwhelming moment before you even install the OS. That mess of half-explained concepts, cryptic terminology, a million contradictory recommendations, and no clear “right” answer. And then you throw accessibility into the mix and it’s like, cool, now you get to do all of that blindfolded, literally and metaphorically. You articulated it so clearly: most people in your position don’t even get to the install screen. They hit the wall of choices, jargon, and uncertainty and bounce off. But you didn’t. You’re staring it down and documenting the whole thing, and that’s rare, important, and brave as hell. I hope people read this and realize that “just install Linux” is not helpful advice. I hope other disabled users see this and know they’re not alone in feeling overwhelmed before even touching a terminal. And I hope you keep writing, because your voice and perspective are powerful — not just for new users, but for veterans who’ve forgotten how broken the entry point still is.