For U & Me Success Story
48 | DECEMBER 2017 | OPEN SOURCE FOR YOU | http://www.OpenSourceForU.comBackSlash users to hop on different
websites for unsupported hardware,”
says Priyansh, a Samrat Ashok
Technological Institute alumnus.
Alongside Ubuntu, the BackSlash
maker opted for Debian package
support. He initially wanted to
integrate the Wayland protocol as
well as enable a space for Qt and
GTK apps. However, in the initial
implementation, Priyansh found
it a challenge to offer a unified
experience across KDE and GNOME
environments. “I found that GTK
apps running on KDE didn’t look as
attractive as on GNOME. Therefore,
all I had to do was to provide a
theme available for both KDE and
GTK, and put it into the respective
locations from where the apps
acquire an identical look and feel,”
Priyansh says.Uniqueness all around
Although the original aim of
BackSlash Linux wasn’t to compete
with any other Linux distros, it has a
list of features that distinguish it from
others. “I start building at the stage
that the other distros stop their work.
I craft solutions around what users
want and continue to improve things
until everything seems pixel perfect,”
affirms Priyansh.
The current beta version of the
platform includes a new login screen
that displays aerial background video
updates, fingerprint protection for
logging in, access to the terminal and
other apps, multi-touch gestures, the
coverflow Alt+Tab switcher, Snap
support, and an updated Plasma Shell.
There are also new updates, including
Wine 2.14 for running Windows
packages, Redshift (a blue light filter),
a new email client, an enhanced
system optimiser with an advanced
app uninstaller and Google Play Music
Desktop Edition.
Priyansh has chosen characters
from the Disney movie ‘Frozen’ to
name the versions of his operating
system. The current beta version of
BackSlash Linux is called Kristoff,which is the name of a Sami iceman in
the animated film, while its first stable
release was launched as ‘Anna’, named
after a princess in ‘Frozen’.Security features under
the hood
BackSlash Linux is not targeted at
enterprise users. Having said that,
the operating system does have some
security features to make the experience
safer for those who want to begin with
a Linux distribution. It receives security
updates directly from Canonical to
keep the environment secure. The
preinstalled System Optimiser app
also helps users optimise performance,
toggle startup programs, and uninstall
applications and packages.
Additionally, community feedback
that has recently started rolling out
enables Priyansh to enhance the
security of the platform. “The currentBy: Jagmeet Singh
The author was an assistant editor at
EFY until recently.Key features that have helped
BackSlash Linux clock 75,000
downloads
• Resembles Apple’s MacOS
• Snap package support
• BackSlash Sidebar
• Fingerprint integration
• Redshift night light filter
• Microsoft fonts
• Backup utility onboardbeta release is doing quite well and
receiving much praise from the
community,” the developer says.Sources of revenue
Experts often believe that selling an
open source solution is more difficult
than trading a proprietary technology.
For BackSlash Linux, Priyansh
has opted for a model that involves
receiving donations and sponsorships.
“Our primary source of revenue
will always be donations and
sponsorships for the project,”
Priyansh asserts.Future plans
BackSlash Linux, available on AMD64
and Intel x64 platforms, certainly has
the potential to grow bigger. Priyansh
is planning to add his own technologies
to the platform, going forward. He is
set to develop his own Web browser,
music player and some ‘awesome
apps’ to take the ‘Made in India’
operating system to the global stage.
“There are also plans to build a custom
compiled Linux kernel in the future to
deliver better support out-of-the-box,”
the developer concludes.