As someone who would like to use Linux as the main OS, but doesn't think Ubuntu is yet that consumer-friendly, I believe this is much needed. What I dislike most about the Linux ecosystem is the applications. Most of them look like they were designed in the pre-2000 era. How is Ubuntu or any Linux distro to become a consumer OS when the apps are so ugly and not modern? How will it attract consumers in the market and increase demand for it?

So I hope they put a lot of emphasis on the design tools and design resources. They need to do it at the level Apple, Google (with Holo) and Microsoft has done it (with Metro). Make it extremely easy for developers to make beautiful apps with stock resources.

But before they even begin to do this, I strongly urge them to take another look at Unity, and rethink it a little before they go all-in with it for the next 5-10 years. I still find Unity slow and frustrating (usability wise). Unless the apps will also be made to be touch-ready, forget about the idea of having the UI look tablet-ready. It doesn't help much if only the OS is touch-ready, but all the apps aren't, and if it's only the OS, then it will just annoy the PC users.

I also think they need to further hide some of the complexities of the Linux OS, like all the package stuff and command line stuff. A normal user doesn't even want to see that, and will freak out if he does, because he won't understand what it is, and will just get the perception that Linux is too hard for him.