Bharat Operating System Solutions
Bharat Operating System Solutions GNU/Linux, also referred to as BOSS Linux, is an Indian Linux distribution based on Debian. The latest stable release is 10.0, which was released in March-2024.
Editions
BOSS Linux was released in various editions for different purposes:- BOSS Desktop: Designed for personal, home, and office use.
- EduBOSS: Designed for schools and educational institutions.
- BOSS Server: Server variant of BOSS GNU/Linux supports Intel and AMD architectures.
- BOSS MOOL: A special edition for maintainability by changing how kernel drivers are loaded as modules.
- Secure BOSS: A Secure Linux distribution with access control and security policies.
- CDAC ERP: ERP is an application to automate the business processes.
History
BOSS Linux was developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing with the aim of promoting the adoption of free and open-source software throughout India. As a deliverable software of the National Resource Centre for Free and Open Source Software, it has a desktop environment that includes support for various Indian language and instructional software.The software was endorsed by the Government of India for adoption and implementation in India. BOSS Linux has been certified by the Linux Foundation for compliance with the Linux Standard Base. BOSS Linux supported Intel and AMD IA-32/x86-64 architecture until version 6. Version 7 onward only supports the x86-64 architecture.
Versions
BOSS Linux has nine major releases:| Version | Code name | Kernel version | Desktop | Date of Release | End of Support Date |
| Sethu | 2.6.14-2-smp | GNOME 2.8 | - | ||
| Tarag | 2.6.17-1-i386 | GNOME 2.14 | January-2006 | ||
| Anant | 2.6.21-1-486 | GNOME 2.18 | September-2007 | ||
| Tejas | 2.6.22-3-486 | GNOME 2.20 | September-2008 | ||
| Savir | 2.6.32-5-686 | GNOME 2.30.2 | April-2011 | ||
| Anokha | 3.10 | GNOME 3.4.2 | September-2013 | ||
| Anoop | 3.16.0-4-686 | GNOME 3.14.4 | August-2015 | ||
| Drishti | 4.9.0-8-amd64 | GNOME 3.22 | 22-June-2017 | 21-June-2022 | |
| Unnati | 5.2 | Cinnamon | 03-October-2019 | 03-October-2023 | |
| Urja | 5.10 | Cinnamon | 02-April-2022 | 30-June-2026 | |
| Pragya | # | Cinnamon | 18-March-2024 | 30-June-2028 |
BOSS 5.0 (Anokha)
This release came with many new applications focused mainly on enhanced security and user-friendliness. The distribution included over 12,800 new packages, for a total of over. Most of the software in the distribution had been updated as well: over software packages. BOSS 5.0 supported Linux Standard Base version 4.1. It also featured XBMC to allow users to easily browse and view videos, photos, podcasts, and music from a hard drive, optical disc, local network, and the Internet.BOSS 6.0 (Anoop)
Notable changes in this release include a kernel update from 3.10 to 3.16, a shift for system boot from init to systemd, the full support of GNOME Shell as part of GNOME 3.14, an updated version of GRUB, the Iceweasel browser being replaced by Firefox and the Pidgin messaging client replacing Empathy, as well as several repository versions of available programs being updated as part of the release.BOSS Linux 6.0 also shipped various application and program updates, such as LibreOffice, X.Org, Evolution, GIMP, VLC media player, GTK+, GCC, GNOME Keyring, and Python.
Related specifically to localization support, language support improved with the replacement of SCIM with IBus with the Integrated System Settings. Indic languages enabled with "Region and Languages" are now directly mapped to the IBus, and the OnScreenKeyboard layout is provided for all layouts.
This release is fully compatible with LSB 4.1.