Ubuntu Countdown Teaser Hints At Touch Support

If you direct your web browser to Ubuntu's homepage, you'll be greeted with a countdown with the words, "So close, you can almost touch it." The countdown looks like it's set to expire tomorrow, January 2, which is when we could see an announcement from Canonical about a possible touch-based operating system.

A touch-based OS of Ubuntu shouldn't be a huge surprise at this point, since Canonical has recently hinted that they're moving towards touch-based interfaces. In a Slashdot Q&A last month, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth made it clear that a cross-device OS was in the cards, with full mobile and tablet support set for Ubuntu 14.04 sometime in 2014.

Essentially, it's the same approach Microsoft took with Windows in Windows 8 and Windows RT, and the challenges that faced Microsoft will also face Canonical — the company must find a way to unify the OS without alienating a subset of users. While we thought that Microsoft did a decent job with Windows 8, a lot of users feel that Microsoft screwed the pooch.

Either way, we have less than a day to go before Ubuntu's mystery is revealed, and while we obviously know what it will be, we're interested in finding out how the company will execute the software and what the interface will look like. If you're at all interested in a touch-based Ubuntu OS, be sure to stick around tomorrow for the official announcement.

[via Engadget]