Inspiration

After having used various full-featured Linux distributions (like Ubuntu, openSUSE, etc) finding that they're too bloated, and having used lightweight ones in between too (like Lubuntu, Puppy Linux, etc), I found that Linux distributions have not found the 'sweet spot' in terms of features. Many of them don't include things that users _ really _ want such as various media libraries, small media tools (e.g. Audio conversion), support for Windows wireless drivers, and a simple way to see various choices of browsers and office suites with Linux support but may not be available on repositories.

What it does

It provides users with a simple, straightforward desktop with a familiar pre-Windows 8 layout. The inclusion of various performance boosting services like preload and readahead, and security services such as the ufw firewall and ClamAV antivirus put Antorca a step ahead of most other Linux distributions when it comes to preparedness for attacks.

How I built it

Antorca is a remaster/respin of a Debian setup. Custom-built tools such as the web browser and office suite installers were built with Bash scripts and Zenity (for GUI dialogs). The ISO images were built using Respin (a fork of the now-defunct Remastersys tool).

Challenges I ran into

I found that finding the sweet-spot between usability and minimalism to be tricky. Often times, minimalist distributions have exchanged elegance and familiarity for less-visually-appealing or less-straightforward interfaces for users to interact with.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

Antorca has been a project I've kept close to my heart since I was 13 years old, back when it was still illume OS. As such it is my longest-running project thus far.

What I learned

You don't have to reinvent the wheel to get something that works. It just needs to do what the competition does, but better, or nicer.

What's next for Antorca

Version 5! ...and beyond!

Built With

• bash
• python