I've never really used any peripheral devices to assist me in using the computer, it's more the software that helps.

I use zoom text which you might want to look at if the person hasn't used any such software before. Other options are Jaws and NVDA.

As for a device I do have a merlin cctv monitor which is a monitor that doubles as a magnification camera where I can put documents under to be enlarged on the screen.

If they're a heavy keyboard user, then a full size mechanical keyboard is going to be a big improvement. It doesn't need to be fancy with rgb or whatever, but make sure it's got mech switches. I use a Logitech g710+ with Cherry mx blue switches.

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If they're a screen reader user, then there isn't much point in buying a mouse. I use NVDA on my machine, and I don't even have a mouse connected. If they do use a mouse, there are a lot of options. My personal favorite is the Mionix NAOS 7000 because of how large it is. The Roccat Nyth, or any other MMO mouse will have tons of buttons on it, though if your friend is picky, they might not like them because they tend to have wonky accelaration compared to mice optimized for general gaming or office use.

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If they need a quality mic, you might try the Yeti X. It inexplicably has micro USB, but it's about as plug-n-play as a quality mic will get. There is software available, but it's completely unnecessary. Just spin the dial to set the gain using the handy LEDs on the front, set the pickup pattern with a button on the back, and away you go.

Braille display life saver really!!!!

I'd recomend buying a comfortable keyboard_ and that's it. You don't need fancy stuff to use a computer without sight.

I'd also say try software for assisting the visually impaired. I'm visually impaired myself and I teach at an institution where we prepare visually impaired clients for the efficient use of computers so they ideally work easier/again. We recommend keyboard-only usage of the computer for all of our clients, even those who can still see a lot and only need some magnification. It is hugely more efficient even for people with good vision, at least in programs that are accessible.

We teach ZoomText and Fusion (JAWS and ZoomText combined) as most clients have some degree of vision left. The software is great but costly (in Switzerland it's paid by the Disability Insurance if you have a medically diagnosed visual disability), so the NVDA might be ideal to try a screenreader for free.

There are also a lot of settings you can activate in Windows. The screen magnifier can magnify portions or all of your screen and can also invert the colors which is easier to view for a lot of visually disabled people I know, me included.

I hope this helps and the best of luck to your friend! The transition to working with assisstive software can be very grating and in the beginning you'll usually be even slower than before. But it's worth not giving up, after a while efficiency will pick up greatly and it won't be as exhausting as before to use a computer.

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