Canonical Commits To Mir For Ubuntu 14.10

Last week I shared that Ubuntu 14.04 LTS won't use the Mir display server by default but now we have more details on upcoming Mir Display Server plans for Ubuntu Linux.

As the director of Mir and Unity at Canonical, Oliver Ries sent out a mailing list announcement on Friday concerning the future of Mir on Ubuntu. While there's been many hoping Canonical would decide to abandon Mir in favor of backtracking to their old Wayland commitment, that is not the case and they remain turned on by their own display server to succeed the X.Org Server.

Here's the details from Oli's message:

- As shared last week, Mir/XMir will not be found by default in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. With being a Long-Term Support release, they are using Unity 7 and working on "quality improvements as the key focus. This will be powered by a traditional X.org based display stack."

- A Unity 8 preview session is a goal for Ubuntu 14.04. Optionally the next-generation Unity 8 interface atop Mir could be used for those wishing to install the extra packages.

- As found right now in Ubuntu 13.10, Mir and XMir packages will be installed in the Ubuntu 14.04 LTS archive for those wanting to install them.

- Mir will still be used as the default for Ubuntu Phone/Touch/Tablet versions.

- Oli wrote, "The revised plan is based on feedback from our community, flavors and commercial partners and we feel this is the right decision in favor of delivering a mature Ubuntu 14.04 LTS release that will be the base for millions of deployments across the globe."

- The new plan is for seeing Mir as part of the default display stack in Ubuntu 14.10. "The key focus is to bring the vision of convergence to our users. The received feedback puts us in a strong position to align with our partners on our shared goal of providing the next generation of user experience on top of Mir."

The mailing list message updating the community on Canonical's Mir plans can be viewed here.