Getting started with Ubuntu, Orca and Linux

[ari]

Hi all,
I am totally blind, so the questions in this post, I'm hoping to be able to 
do everything myself, like getting everything up and running. A while ago, I 
was interested in getting started with Ubuntu, but Orca was still not really 
usable. My situation is that, first, I am not a computer pro, I use my 
computer for everyday tasks, I do like messing around with it, but I'm more 
an average sort of person, I don't, for example, have hardly any experience 
of doing stuff like using command lines, modifying configuration files, etc, 
I've just been brought up on Windows. I'd like to use Orca with a laptop, is 
it now easily possible? How usable is Orca now with Openoffice, Firefox, and 
email? Can I use Orca comfortably for doing most everyday things? By using 
Orca and Linux, I'll later get used to the whole text-based environment. The 
most important questions, first, I'd like to try the live CD, where do I get 
the latest version, plus a getting started guide? Also, if I order the 
normal Ubuntu CD's, will Orca be on there and easy to set up? Would you 
recommend that I still wait a bit more before trying it out, or is it 
generally much better now?
Thanks
Ari