BOSS GNU/Linux

BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solutions) GNU/Linux is an open source distribution of Linux derived from the highly acclaimed Debian GNU/Linux operating system and built around the controversial GNOME desktop environment.

It is developed by C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) for the Indian Linux community, especially because it includes support for the Indian language, as well as a collection of applications that are relevant for the Indian government.

Availability, boot options and supported languages

It's distributed as a single Live DVD ISO image that can be used as-is or installed on a local disk drive using a DVD disc or a USB flash drive. The system has been designed from the ground up to support both the 64-bit (amd64) and 32-bit (i386) hardware platforms.

From the boot prompt you can start the live environment, as well as to install the operating system using the graphical installer or in text mode. In addition, users will be able to install BOSS GNU/Linux with speech synthesis or using advances options like expert install and automated install. A rescue mode is also available in the Advanced options menu entry.

Officially supported Indian languages include Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Maithili, Marathi, Manipuri, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

The GNOME desktop and pre-installed apps

As mentioned, the distribution comes with the GNOME desktop environment, which provides users with a modern and easy-to-use graphical session comprised of two panels, a top one for accessing the main menu and launch applications, and a bottom one for switch between virtual workspaces and interacting with running programs.

Default applications include the Chromium and Iceweasel web browser, Evolution email and calendar client, Pidgin instant messenger, Transmission BitTorrent client, XChat IRC client, Gwibber social networking client, Shotwell image viewer and organizer, LibreOffice office suite, GIMP image editor, and many others.

Bottom line

Summing up, BOSS GNU/Linux is a great and stable Debian-based operating system, specifically designed for the Indian Linux community. It comes with out-of-the-box support for multimedia files, as well as state-of-the-art hardware detection, supporting a wide range of machines.

What is new in this release:

• Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has launched its Bharat Operating Systems Solutions (BOSS) GNU/Linux software version 3.0, developed by NRCFOSS (National Resource Centre for Free/Open Source Software). BOSS version 3.0 is coupled with GNOME and KDE desktop environments with a wide Indian language support and packages that are relevant for use in the government domain. The software is also endowed with Bluetooth for short range of communications along with salient features like RSS feed reader and PDF viewer. The objective of creating BOSS Linux is to enable the non-English speaking people of India to be exposed to the benefits of free and open source software and GNU/Linux.