Ubuntu Linux To Finally Get Multitouch Support

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When it comes to desktop operating systems there are several competitors, but just one reigning king. Microsoft’s Windows operating system (currently on version 7) as a whole has accrued more OS market share than all of its competitors combined. However, just because it has the highest percentage of market share doesn’t necessarily make it the best operating system out there. Ask an Apple fanboy and they’ll tell you OS X is the best, and a Linux fanboys and they’ll tell you Linux is the best and so on and so forth.

However, we’re not about to get into a debate here instead we’re focusing on a new feature coming to one of the most popular Linux distributions, Ubuntu. Now, Ubuntu has been around for quite some time raising Linux awareness and giving those just getting into the open source world a glimpse of what’s possible. While Ubuntu is just as capable as any other operating system out there (and arguably more capable, depending on who you ask) there is one feature it has been lacking that others have had down pat for a while and that is multitouch input.

We already know that Mac OS X allows it with their MacBook trackpads and of course the infamous Magic Trackpad, and we know that Windows 7 has it considering it’s set to power some high end tablets, but what about Ubuntu? Well, it seems that the popular Linux distro will finally be getting multitouch input when the 101.10 update makes its way to the public.

At launch, the multitouch/gesture support will be somewhat slim but the developers hope third party programmers will step in to add the additional functionality. However, our sources do say that the update is expected to bring with it support for the Magic Trackpad

This new feature implementation will definitely help hardware manufacturers to pre-install Ubuntu on devices that can compete with not only the iPad but also Android and Windows 7 powered tablets that will be coming out soon.

Anyone else excited for an Ubuntu powered tablet?