The center is all set to unveil a new version of its own BOSS (Bharat Operating System Solutions) OS and will present it to all government stakeholders on September 15. The software was initially launched back in January 2007, but has lost steam since then.
The idea behind BOSS was to develop a homegrown OS which would reduce dependence on foreign operating software like Windows. However, it failed to be a success due to a lack of adoption by government agencies and slow updates. Other companies provided faster upgrades and were more accessible.
BOSS has been made more secure in light of extensive cyber attacks in recent times. A senior official within the government claims it’s been tested out for the past three months by various departments and has proven successful against attacks. As per DNA, he said the improved version of the OS has been stuffed with more features and is more user-friendly.
The source went on to assert that the government would take the help of Indian software firms to improve the OS even further. According to him, BOSS now contains most of the tools one would find in any other software such as Windows and would be free of security vulnerabilities commonly found in them.
The Linux-based BOSS has been worked on by the Center of Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). It was assisted in its endeavors by the Defense Research and Development Organization and the Gujarat Technological University. It supports a wide range of Indian languages, in order to make it more accessible to non-English users.
The latest variant of the OS is meant for personal computers and has networking support. It’s free and is intended to function as an open source alternative to other software.