Mark Shuttleworth Announces uTouch Framework
Open source gesture suite lands in Ubuntu 10.10.
Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth today announced the uTouch gesture suite that will make its first appearance in the 10.10.10 build of Ubuntu. The code is published under GPLv3 and LGPLv3.
"There's no reason why anyone else can't ship them as well," Shuttleworth said. "There's nothing in there proprietary to Canonical," he added.
Shuttleworth explained that UTouch goes beyond standard touch frameworks by allowing users to chain a series of gestures into a sophisticated series of commands known as "gesture sentences."
The window manager in Ubuntu 10.10 Netbook Edition will fully support the UTouch framework and thereby gesture sentences.
"Netbooks with multitouch will be able to switch applications, potentially switch tabs within the application you're using or, using gestures," Shuttleworth told Linux Pro.
Combining uTouch with Unity, Ubuntu's retooled desktop environment, optimized for netbooks and tablets is a logical choice, but developers will have to first create applications that take advantage of uTouch. Updating from Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04 to 10.10 will automatically include UTouch and Unity. Shuttleworth said that Canonical will include at least one application that has a rich touch interface.
"We're announcing the pieces now because we think developers will want to get working on their own apps," Shuttleworth said.
Shuttleworth expects preinstalled uTouch-compatible devices to coincide with Ubuntu 10.10. Ubuntu 10.10 won't be available until October.
Issue 272/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
News
-
KDE Plasma 6 Looks to Bring Basic HDR Support
The KWin piece of KDE Plasma now has HDR support and color management geared for the 6.0 release.
-
Bodhi Linux 7.0 Beta Ready for Testing
The latest iteration of the Bohdi Linux distribution is now available for those who want to experience what's in store and for testing purposes.
-
Changes Coming to Ubuntu PPA Usage
The way you manage Personal Package Archives will be changing with the release of Ubuntu 23.10.
-
AlmaLinux 9.2 Now Available for Download
AlmaLinux has been released and provides a free alternative to upstream Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
-
An Immutable Version of Fedora Is Under Consideration
For anyone who's a fan of using immutable versions of Linux, the Fedora team is currently considering adding a new spin called Fedora Onyx.
-
New Release of Br OS Includes ChatGPT Integration
Br OS 23.04 is now available and is geared specifically toward web content creation.
-
Command-Line Only Peropesis 2.1 Available Now
The latest iteration of Peropesis has been released with plenty of updates and introduces new software development tools.
-
TUXEDO Computers Announces InfinityBook Pro 14
With the new generation of their popular InfinityBook Pro 14, TUXEDO upgrades its ultra-mobile, powerful business laptop with some impressive specs.
-
Linux Kernel 6.3 Release Includes Interesting Features
Although it's not a Long Term Release candidate, Linux 6.3 includes features that will benefit end users.
-
Arch-Based blendOS Features Cool Trick
If you're looking for a Linux distribution that blends Linux, Android, and web apps together, blendOS might be what you're looking for.