Ubuntu, the Linux distribution with a serious case of Mac-envy, has ambitions of moving beyond the PC to the tablet, smartphone and connected device space.

At the Ubuntu Developer Summit, Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Canonical — the company that funds Ubuntu development — said that the time is right to move the distribution to additional devices. On his blog, Shuttleworth says that by April 2014, Ubuntu "will power tablets, phones, TVs and smart screens from the car to the office kitchen, and it will connect those devices cleanly and seamlessly to the desktop, the server and the cloud."

This isn't the first time Shuttleworth has made big proclamations about the future of Ubuntu. In July 2008, he boldly proclaimed that the open source software OS could surpass Apple in UI in two years. Three-and-a-half years later, Ubuntu looks a lot more like OS X, but has hardly surpassed Apple in terms of interface and user experience.

Still, Shuttleworth argues that Ubuntu is well positioned to thrive in a world where computing takes place on a myriad of devices, from the car to the living room, thanks to its Unity user interface.

Competing Against Android

This isn't the first time that Ubuntu has vowed to take on alternative platforms. In fact, the Unity user interface was originally designed for netbooks and other smaller-screened devices. Throughout the past year, Ubuntu has gained support for touchscreens and ARM processors.

Here's the problem: An operating system based on the Linux kernel that can be augmented to phones, tablets, in-car systems and connected TVs already exists. It's called Android.

While Android is most frequently used to power smartphones and tablets, it has become the base OS for a multitude of embedded devices. Plus, as Amazon has shown with the Kindle Fire, it's entirely possible to use Android without using Google's user interface or additional platform components.

This leaves Ubuntu in a precarious position. The distribution already struggles to straddle the line between community involvement and strong, designated leadership from a parent company (in this case, Canonical). Convincing developers optimize applications for use on additional devices may prove difficult.

[via Engadget]