Support for Windows 10 is ending next month, making it a great time to switch to Linux! There's no need to throw away your old computer. If you primarily use your machine for social media, shopping, or online banking, you can save money and help the environment.

Which distribution would you recommend? Mint or Ubuntu?

PS: For older computers, a lighter weight distribution might be a better choice so ch as Linux Mint XFCE or Lubuntu.

@nixCraft *sigh* I wish people would stop recommending Linux as the be all end all. It's not, especially for those of us who use screen readers. We have to learn an entirely new operating system with various interfaces (choosing a desktop is part of it)a, plus a new screen reader, plus new programs and ways of installing and updating them, and that's assuming that the distribution even has Orca enabled or that it can easily be enabled at startup without sighted assistance. Even for the sighted, many can't just install it and go, as they probably have new things to learn as well. Yes, it's a good option, but it's not the only one, and it isn't as if Windows 10 will suddenly stop working or a hacker will wipe these computers overnight. XP and 7 both still work and both have modern browsers (Supermium and Serpent UXP) to use with them, so 10 most certainly does as well.

@dandylover1 if you’re looking for an experience where the screen reader is available right from the install page and you can get started without sighted assistance, maybe give elementary OS a spin! We’ve worked with blind folks over the last couple years to provide the first run experience that you’re seeking 😊

@nixCraft

@elementary @nixCraft Ooh! This is something new to me! Thank you! I will definitely research it. And thank you for truly caring about accessibility. This is a wonderful thing.
@elementary @nixCraft Okay. I just went to the site and this is a paid system with no demonstration version. Plus, I keep seeing advice not to install it in a virtual machine, which is precisely what I would do when testing any new system. Plus, it's heavy on resources and system specifications. I am using a Toughpad FZ-M1 MK3 which has a Core i5-7Y57 processor and 8gb of ram. This is perfect for Windows 11 plus DOS, XP or 7. This requires at least 4gb, and probably a higher processor. I don't have my more powerful desktop set up and even that has 8gb because I have never needed more.

@dandylover1 Pay-what-you-can does include 0 if you’re unable to pay, but we do rely on paid downloads to be able to pay for development and servers and all the other overhead costs we incur to provide our operating system.

You’ll have a better time installing directly on your hardware. Especially with screen reader use cases we’ve seen virtual machines introduce showstopping issues. But you also might have a perfectly acceptable experience. It’s unpredictable which is why we don’t recommend it

@elementary All of the above makes sense.