Abhishek
Member • Mar 12, 2014
Mir Display Server & Systemd Will be Shipped As Default In Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
During latest Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS), Mark Shuttleworth announced that Mir display server & Ubuntu Will Switch To Systemd Abandoning Their Own init System Upstart will happen along the road to 16.04 LTS and it is likely to shipped as default in 16.04 LTS. Mir display server is being postponed multiple times in last one year, and it seems like it is going to happen again. Looks like Mark Shuttleworth is giving hint on the fact that you should stop expecting the stable release of Mir display server in next release after LTS i.e Ubuntu 14.10, as it was expected to. No subject.
Before the release of Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, it was planned to be shipped with XMir. XMir is the implementation of X11 compatibility layer running on top of Mir display server, so applications that are designed for X server can run on Mir. However, just before feature freeze of Ubuntu 13.10 it was pulled back due to some 'outstanding technical difficulties' which is mentioned in the XMir update for Ubuntu 13.10. Later on, in November it was announced that Mir won't be shipped with Mir display server as default and now the video of UDS reveals that it will take almost two more years from now to get stable for desktop.
Mir experimental stacks are packaged along with Unity8 desktop which any user can install it & test it. After testing Unity8 and Mir you'll find that it is no where closer to stable state, hefty amount of improvements are needed & thus there is no hope that it can be shipped as default in Ubuntu 14.10.
Another factor that is stopping Mir to be shipped as default display server could be the 'Hardware support'. Currently, there is no single driver support for Mir, even upstream Nouveau & Radeon don't support Mir, let alone AMD & Nvidia. Since Intel no longer offers patches to support XMir, Canonical has to patch it on their own for compatibility.
Canonical has too much on plate, from Mir display server to Ubuntu Touch development and at the same time offering it's desktop/server users with very good & stable desktop experience. With all these delays piling up, a question does pop in users mind - Did Ubuntu make the right choice in developing their own display server? Give your opinions in comments below.
Before the release of Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, it was planned to be shipped with XMir. XMir is the implementation of X11 compatibility layer running on top of Mir display server, so applications that are designed for X server can run on Mir. However, just before feature freeze of Ubuntu 13.10 it was pulled back due to some 'outstanding technical difficulties' which is mentioned in the XMir update for Ubuntu 13.10. Later on, in November it was announced that Mir won't be shipped with Mir display server as default and now the video of UDS reveals that it will take almost two more years from now to get stable for desktop.
Mir experimental stacks are packaged along with Unity8 desktop which any user can install it & test it. After testing Unity8 and Mir you'll find that it is no where closer to stable state, hefty amount of improvements are needed & thus there is no hope that it can be shipped as default in Ubuntu 14.10.
Another factor that is stopping Mir to be shipped as default display server could be the 'Hardware support'. Currently, there is no single driver support for Mir, even upstream Nouveau & Radeon don't support Mir, let alone AMD & Nvidia. Since Intel no longer offers patches to support XMir, Canonical has to patch it on their own for compatibility.
Canonical has too much on plate, from Mir display server to Ubuntu Touch development and at the same time offering it's desktop/server users with very good & stable desktop experience. With all these delays piling up, a question does pop in users mind - Did Ubuntu make the right choice in developing their own display server? Give your opinions in comments below.