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Ubuntu Dumps X For Unity On Wayland

Posted by Soulskill on from the no-longer-marks-the-spot dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Canonical and Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth has announced that Ubuntu will move away from the traditional X.org display environment to Wayland — a more modern alternative. The move means there is now little reason for GNOME developers to recommend Ubuntu as an operating system. Shuttleworth said, 'We're confident we’ll be able to retain the ability to run X applications in a compatibility mode, so this is not a transition that needs to reset the world of desktop free software. Nor is it a transition everyone needs to make at the same time: for the same reason we'll keep investing in the 2D experience on Ubuntu despite also believing that Unity, with all its GL dependencies, is the best interface for the desktop. We'll help GNOME and KDE with the transition, there's no reason for them not to be there on day one either.'"

9 of 640 comments (clear)

  1. No standards at all by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    WTF

    > The move means there is now little reason for GNOME developers to recommend Ubuntu as an operating system.

    I'm getting sick of this crap "journalism". if you want to make a comment, add a comment. Don't add your opinion to the summary. Just report the facts. If you really have to, blog about your opinion and add a link to that blog, stating that it's your opinion.

    1. Re:No standards at all by jhigh · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Since when is /. journalism??!

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    2. Re:No standards at all by chrb · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Indeed. The headline is alarmist - "Ubuntu Dumps X For Unity On Wayland" makes it sound like they just made a huge change without consulting anyone, but Shuttleworth does say they have consulted others, and he predicts that it will take a year to get the first images out, and 4 years or more to shift applications onto Wayland. Shuttleworth is talking about a long-term direction, and it doesn't seem to be a rash decision - Intel and Nokia both appear to be backing Wayland for mobile devices.

      Something like this was bound to happen after Google decided not to use X for Android. The Linux world would benefit greatly from a fast and lightweight display server that has a common codebase for mobile devices and desktops, and can be used as a backend for Android, Meego, KDE and Gnome.

  2. gnome developers what? by Lord+Ender · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The move means there is now little reason for GNOME developers to recommend Ubuntu as an operating system.

    I don't know a single person, not one, who makes his OS choice based on what "gnome developers" recommend. Why was this bit even added to the summary?

    --
    A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
  3. Re:A bit big for their britches? by mcrbids · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But you are missing the point. X is a protocol layed out long, long ago. And there are long standing issues with it that become glaring as we move forward. Long known issues such as 3D support.

    Are the advantages of the new server enough to outweigh the costs?

    Besides, when did Slashdot become a crowd that believes that there should only be one right way? Forks are GOOD for software evolution - it's how new ideas get tried out!

    Go Ubuntu for being brave enough to try to tackle the problems of X!

    --
    I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
  4. Re:A bit big for their britches? by tjwhaynes · · Score: 5, Insightful

    My only concern is that last time I looked Wayland wasn't ready for primetime, and the intent with Wayland wasn't to be a full replacement for X for most users.

    If Mark Shuttleworth was proposing Wayland for prime-time inclusion in Ubuntu 11.04 or even 11.10, I'd be concerned. But if you actually follow this news story to the original source at http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/551 you would find this:

    Timeframes are difficult. I’m sure we could deliver *something* in six months, but I think a year is more realistic for the first images that will be widely useful in our community. I’d love to be proven conservative on that :-) but I suspect it’s more likely to err the other way. It might take four or more years to really move the ecosystem. Progress on Wayland itself is sufficient for me to be confident that no other initiative could outrun it, especially if we deliver things like Unity and uTouch with it. And also if we make an early public statement in support of the project. Which this is!

    So the first likely viewing of this would 11.10 and real integration into the entire stack is more likely in the 14.10/15.04 time frame.

    So this is a classic storm in a teacup right now. The reality is "promising project will be supported by major Linux player for future inclusion".

    Cheers,
    Toby Haynes

    --
    Anything I post is strictly my own thoughts and doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the opinions of IBM.
  5. Re:Ok great for beginners by computational+super · · Score: 5, Insightful
    X is a part of any proper Unix.

    Proper Unix doesn't have any graphical display capabilities at all.

    Now get off my lawn.

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    Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
  6. Re:Summary's BOGUS... by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That's good to hear. All I care about is one thing: does "ssh -X" work correctly and transparently out of the box with all included apps. If so, no problem. If not, I'll switch distros.

  7. Re:And thus the curse of Open Source manifests its by russotto · · Score: 5, Insightful

    And thus the curse of Open Source manifests itself - Develop something to to the virge of usability and robustness...then BAM! "Fuggit" let's start again in a new direction and it will be "better" and spend more years in development wilderness.

    In the time X11 has been around, Apple has switched processor families twice and gone through two rewrites of the operating system (System 7 and OS X). Microsoft has gone from Windows 2 to Windows 3.1 (16 bit!) to Windows 95 to the NT based versions. Sun has gone from SunOS 4 to Solaris 2 and ceased to exist.

    And you think starting in a new direction is an Open Source curse?