Seen ze iPhone? Now see this. Ubuntu, the famed Linux distro now wants to conquer new territory. Way back, I’d seen this project on Ubuntu Wikis, called Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition. It seems that it’s finally reached some sort of crucial stage, for it’s now an official Ubuntu project, and is called Ubuntu Mobile. Here, check out the screenshots.
Looks nice? That’s not it. It will be designed for touchscreen interface phones, so all that stuff you see above is for tapping and flicking around. Come to think of it, this could be the year when Linux finally makes a big big mark – with Windows Vista continuing its dismal sales, and the next big Ubuntu long term support update in Hardy Heron 8.04; not to forget THE most promising office suite I’ve seen – Lotus Symphony by IBM, which is also due later this year. Lotus Symphony is still beta software, quite unstable with MS Office formats, buggy at parts – but it’s got this way amazing interface which is a fusion of Microsucks Office 2007 and OpenOffice. I think this could be THE big promising break if it’s adopted as the standard office suite when it’s done – because office suite are one helluva factor when people think of switching.
And of course, there will be Google’s Android. There are quite a few sneak previews already of what we can expect from it. In all, exciting times. Major headway can be made it convincing people that isn’t a command-line monolith from the early 90s if they see the ease if use of Linux in the mobile segment. And after that, the desktop.
Did someone say, Linux will rule?