The 13.10 cycle has been one of the most hectic I have personally ever experienced with Ubuntu. In this cycle we have built the key ingredients in our convergence story…Unity 8, Mir, the Ubuntu SDK, a full app upload process…and this work is forming a strong foundation for the 14.x releases in which we will complete the first iteration of our full convergence vision.
In Ubuntu 13.10 my team has worked extensively on building our app developer community. I have talked in the past about the importance of app developers to Ubuntu and when we release 13.10 we will see an end-to-end developer story – from browsing [developer.ubuntu.com](https://developer.ubuntu.com), to downloading the Ubuntu SDK, to writing code, to full API and tutorial docs, to packaging an app easily and getting it in the app store where it will run secure and confined on an Ubuntu phone. I am proud of everyone who has invested so much work in this end-to-end story.
*Karma Machine, winner of the Ubuntu App Showdown*.
We are already seeing the fruits of this developer story with the wonderful apps that are available in the app store as a result of the Ubuntu App Showdown. Read more [about the winners of the showdown](https://developer.ubuntu.com/2013/10/winners-of-the-2013-ubuntu-app-showdown/).
## Building Full Convergence
In the 13.10 cycle we got our developer story in shape by flexing the muscles of the platform in a practical way. This was done largely in part by our core apps. As the core apps evolved we would discover bugs or missing pieces in our developer platform and fix them. Real programmers writing code helped us to understand where to fix and resolve issues.
In the Ubuntu 14.04 cycle I want to take this to the next level by flexing the muscles of our platform for writing apps that have both phone and desktop interfaces. This has two benefits:
1. It helps us make our SDK stronger and more powerful across the full range of converged form-factors.
2. It starts development of a powerful set of consistent, efficient desktop apps ready for when we are in a position to ship Unity 8 on the desktop.
Just imagine being able to run a slick, efficient, featureful app on your desktop, and be able to use the same app with a similar interface on your phone. Karma Machine, the winner of the Ubuntu App Showdown, is a good example of this:
*Karma Machine, running in Desktop mode*.
Today the Ubuntu SDK already has the ability to build apps that render differently on desktops, phones, and tablets, and many of the apps submitted in the app showdown already have converged interfaces (*Ubuntu Tasks, uNote, OMGUbuntu, CNotes, Memories, Connect4, Reversi, Blackjack, GitHub Client, RamSamSam Reader, Yad, uShopper, SaucyBacon, Karma Machine, Beru, Solitaire Games, uTranslate, Word Chain, StackBrowser, Counters, and uDraw*).
I want to work with these and other app developers so we can uncover any bugs, design problems, inconsistencies, and other issues. If you would be interested in working with us on these goals, please get in touch. Thanks!
