The desktop, not just the Linux desktop, has reached a state of stagnation. Each new release of Ubuntu, and of most other Linux distributions, comes with only a few truly interesting features, Apple announced they are essentially doing a maintenance release, and the overall response to Vista was, at best, “meh.” Whoever breaks this cycle first is going to get a big lead.

Today, Mark Shuttleworth has announced that Canonical will be hiring a team of developers and designers whose job it will be to improve the Linux desktop. The point of this team, as I understand it, is to take some of the ideas from the community, mix those ideas with the team’s own ideas, and develop those ideas into a finished product to integrate into Ubuntu.

My hope for this team is that it will give Ubuntu the necessary push to bring something truly new to the desktop, not just more of the same. If this happens, Ubuntu stands a chance to jump over Apple and Microsoft and be far ahead by the time they start moving again.

I believe that identifying a general area of Linux that needs improvement and putting a group of people on the area is exactly the right thing to do. Of course, it still remains to be seen what this team will do, but, as you can tell, I have high hopes.