Karin Chan

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Unity 8 Available In The Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander Repositories

<div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Unity 8, the Ubuntu Phone Qml Shell, has <a href="https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unity8/+publishinghistory">landed</a> in the Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander repositories.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For now, Unity 8 is in its early alpha stages and not ready for use, and in fact, there's a message on the wallpaper used by it that says just that:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3fK6JYO_gGXag_Wt6XpH37XiT1jYTFNI0A9zBapmMe9Zje03JkHbXOZFiQ4GyuizTGBUjOB31JvOl4O4hRW14HEgLsy0QDxKIjKiBXLBoBu380tnLRuu6nfEwcmxfLS8Qj0tlTnTvPQ/s1600/unity8.png" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Unity 8 shell" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3fK6JYO_gGXag_Wt6XpH37XiT1jYTFNI0A9zBapmMe9Zje03JkHbXOZFiQ4GyuizTGBUjOB31JvOl4O4hRW14HEgLsy0QDxKIjKiBXLBoBu380tnLRuu6nfEwcmxfLS8Qj0tlTnTvPQ/s320/unity8.png" title="Unity 8 shell" /></a></div><br /><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;">And indeed, while I was able to run it on my Saucy computer, most stuff didn't work: I wasn't able to access the launcher on the left using the mouse, the indicators didn't work and so on. Also, the phone applications that show up in Unity 8 are dummy apps so they don't actually work (and furthermore, clicking any of them freezes Unity 8 for now).<br /><br />Unity 8 currently runs as an app and you can switch from the phone to the tablet mode by resizing its window:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUNTsWUXUv0f6Bp6hv_y3v_KNPa_iq0abKI6QDQoHasM2YPTW29aV9Gk-5LqpGz2AdXCeWoKTm4wrG3r5jk_ibLdgCwV7eTrUSKbua2dV0Sa53hsrTgzsZmNYMCc5cnr7xOTZf7DZMPY/s1600/unity8_2.png" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Unity 8 shell" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUNTsWUXUv0f6Bp6hv_y3v_KNPa_iq0abKI6QDQoHasM2YPTW29aV9Gk-5LqpGz2AdXCeWoKTm4wrG3r5jk_ibLdgCwV7eTrUSKbua2dV0Sa53hsrTgzsZmNYMCc5cnr7xOTZf7DZMPY/s320/unity8_2.png" title="Unity 8 shell" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaawAwqR99RGCvw_1jPH09Y05IW7njK6ASg9smVYuK7VLn7C1EZ1O2lVvZVTfX-vOC53WAr7msZDwRMopeGXCx09QS86vTTHDuC6UDgH3T_V4N7y6_qxkr-lino7b3FLquGavC5D0JzeA/s1600/unity8_3.png" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Unity 8 shell" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaawAwqR99RGCvw_1jPH09Y05IW7njK6ASg9smVYuK7VLn7C1EZ1O2lVvZVTfX-vOC53WAr7msZDwRMopeGXCx09QS86vTTHDuC6UDgH3T_V4N7y6_qxkr-lino7b3FLquGavC5D0JzeA/s320/unity8_3.png" title="Unity 8 shell" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>According to the <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Unity8Desktop">Unity8Desktop</a> Ubuntu wiki entry, the following Unity 8 features should work for the final Ubuntu 13.10 release:</b></div><ul style="text-align: justify;"><li>Keyboard input, including hotkeys similar to those in Unity7;</li><li>Mouse, touchscreen, scroll wheels, touchpads, and other existing input devices;</li><li>The HUD should be available;</li><li>Indicators should be available. Should include at a minimum the Networking indicator;</li><li>The Unity 8 Shell and its components adjusts to local screen size.</li><li>Content discovery should be working. At a minimum, the local content scopes should be available;</li><li>Minimal Window management, such as focus control and maybe window move and resize; </li><li>The following core applications should be installable and runnable from the Unity 8 Shell on the desktop: Browser App, Gallery App, Music Player App and the Video Player App.</li><li>Multi-monitor will not be supported.</li></ul><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The plan is to have a preview Unity 8 on Mir session (so users can select to log in to Unity 8 from the LightDM login screen) available for Ubuntu 13.10 for evaluation and testing - at least that's what the <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Unity8Desktop">Unity8Desktop</a> wiki entry mentions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the other hand, Olli Ries, Head of Engineering for Canonical's Product Strategy team, says in a <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Unity8Desktop">blog post</a> that "<i>[...] the integration of Unity 8 into Ubuntu Desktop is not scheduled to happen for 13.10 but will only be fully integrated for 14.10. The QML based Unity 8 is currently fully integrated on the Ubuntu Touch images only</i>".</div><br /><br /><h2>Install Unity 8 in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you want to test Unity 8 in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, use the following command:</div><pre class="linux-code"><code>sudo apt-get install unity8</code></pre>Then, type "<b>unity8</b>" in a terminal to launch it.

Unity 8 Available In The Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander Repositories

Unity 8, the Ubuntu Phone Qml Shell, has landed in the Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander repositories. For now, Unity 8 is in its early alpha s...

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Possible Changes In Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander [UDS]

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q5gVA56sePA/UZEB_ZEjH7I/AAAAAAAAPQE/zi5r_CiSnG4/s1600/salamander-picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q5gVA56sePA/UZEB_ZEjH7I/AAAAAAAAPQE/zi5r_CiSnG4/s250/salamander-picture.jpg" width="250" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Ubuntu Developer Summit is a meeting where software developers gather to discuss the next Ubuntu version changes and features.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <a href="http://uds.ubuntu.com/">Ubuntu Developer Summit</a> (uds-1305) will start tomorrow, will last for 3 days and some major possible changes will be discussed, like "<a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/05/ubuntu-might-get-new-simplified.html">click packages</a>", Chromium replacing Firefox as the default web browser, Unity 8 with Mir being available for testing on the desktop and more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So here are the <b>possible changes in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander (remember, possible, they may or may not happen) desktop as well as Lubuntu and Xubuntu 13.10. </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The discussions start tomorrow and you can watch all the UDS sessions live (Google+ Hangouts) or recorded. See <a href="http://summit.ubuntu.com/uds-1305/">http://summit.ubuntu.com/uds-1305/</a> for a complete UDS-1305 schedule.</i></div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Ubuntu / Unity changes</h2><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Elh34zFygpA/UXaUrjdsWYI/AAAAAAAAPCo/kUj-cFjs3xw/s1600/ubuntu13.04-raring-ringtail.png"><img alt="Ubuntu" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Elh34zFygpA/UXaUrjdsWYI/AAAAAAAAPCo/kUj-cFjs3xw/s450/ubuntu13.04-raring-ringtail.png" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>In Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, Unity 7 should  get the 100 scopes / <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/how-to-install-unity-smart-scopes-in.html">smart scopes</a> feature </b>that was supposed to land in Ubuntu 13.04, but was postponed<b>, </b>along with an <b>in-dash payment system</b>. Furthermore, <b>Compiz will probably be updated to version 0.9.10 (trunk) with the performance improvement branches merged</b>, so users should see an even faster Unity / desktop in the upcoming Ubuntu release.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Unity 8 which will be running on top of Mir might be available as an alternative session on the desktop in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander, for testing purposes</b>. If this will happen, Unity 8 will be able to run in parallel with Unity 7 (the main shell used by default in Ubuntu 13.10). The <b>expected minimal capabilities include</b> accessing local content, working networking, using some phone core apps on the desktop and a good experience navigating the shell with a non-touch device such as a touchpad or mouse. There will be no desktop features added so this will only be a reflection of what already exists for the phone.</div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nX6qBAib5nU/UZD_y2riqBI/AAAAAAAAPP4/1xcVokeig4I/s1600/chromium-browser.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nX6qBAib5nU/UZD_y2riqBI/AAAAAAAAPP4/1xcVokeig4I/s400/chromium-browser.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">As for the default applications, it looks like there's only one change proposal, but a pretty major one: <b>Chromium might be used as the default web browser in Ubuntu 13.10, replacing Firefox</b>. According to the <a href="https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/foundations-1305-chromium-default-browser">blueprint</a>, "<i>Chromium has matured to being as good or better than Firefox. It will be the foundation of a lot of Ubuntu Touch code and webapps code</i>", this probably leading to considering it as the default browser on the desktop too.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">A new feature that might be added to Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander is "<b>click packages</b>", a simplified package format and installer - we've already covered that so take a look at our initial article for details: <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/05/ubuntu-might-get-new-simplified.html">Ubuntu Might Get A New Simplified Packaging Format And App Installer</a>.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Update:</b> <b><a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/02/new-locally-integrated-menubar-might.html">locally integrated menus</a></b> was initially in the  Desktop Unity Polish for 13.10 <a href="https://blueprints.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+spec/client-s-unity7-polish">blueprint</a>, but was later removed, so it seems this feature won't make it in Ubuntu 13.10 either (it was firstly supposed to land in Ubuntu 12.04).</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Other changes that might make it into Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander include:</b></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">support by default the latest Nvidia drivers that come with <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/04/nvidia-releases-linux-graphics-drivers.html">initial Optimus support</a> (the patches are already available, there's little work required);</li><li style="text-align: justify;">there might be some new indicators (e.g.: for Keyboard);</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Saucy will probably ship with xserver 1.14 or even 1.15, mesa 9.2.x and Linux Kernel 3.10 or 3.11;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">prime support, Radeon UVD support, proper radeonsi support as well as proper touch screen support for X.Org.</li></ul><br /><br /><br /><h2>Possible Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander changes</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Some interesting changes are expected to happen in Lubuntu too, the LXDE Ubuntu flavor. While Ubuntu might switch from Firefox to Chromium, <b>Lubuntu considers the opposite: it might ship with Firefox by default instead of Chromium</b> as the default web browser because Chromium uses too much memory for Lubuntu, which is supposed to be a lightweight Linux distribution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Other possible changes in Lubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander include:</b></div><ul><li style="text-align: justify;">remove lxkeymap in favor of the keyboard applet of lxpanel;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Lubuntu Software Center might be replaced with something else;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">Xscreensaver might be removed and replaced with the LightDM locking system;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">some new games might be added by default;</li><li style="text-align: justify;">artwork changes.</li></ul><br /><br /><br /><h2>Xubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">No Xubuntu session shows up in the UDS session list, but there are some sessions registered on Launchpad, though they don't give too much info about Xubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander. So far, it looks like <b>Xubuntu 13.10 might get apt-offline by default</b> and also, there's going to be a<b> study to see if it's feasible to integrate HUD into Xubuntu</b>. Xubuntu Saucy might also get a new <b>keyboard shortcuts overlay</b>, kind of like the one available in Ubuntu and some other minor tweaks, at least according to the <a href="https://blueprints.launchpad.net/sprints/uds-1305/+specs?searchtext=xubuntu">current blueprints</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, since Xfce 4.12 was <a href="http://wiki.xfce.org/releng/4.12/roadmap">supposed</a> to be released in March, but wasn't, it's still unsure if Xubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander will ship with Xfce 4.12 or continue with 4.10 like in Xubuntu Quantal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>There's little or no information for now about Kubuntu, Ubuntu GNOME or the other Ubuntu flavors, that's why I didn't add any info about them.</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>info via <a href="http://summit.ubuntu.com/uds-1305/">summit.ubuntu.com/uds-1305/</a></i></div>

Possible Changes In Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy Salamander [UDS]

Ubuntu Developer Summit is a meeting where software developers gather to discuss the next Ubuntu version changes and features. The Ubuntu De...

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Ubuntu To Use Its Own Display Server Called Mir, Unity To Be Ported To Qt/QML

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I7QNX7X75ks/UTTmVqTTJGI/AAAAAAAAOXs/Xl1flZAqhEw/s1600/ubuntu-qt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I7QNX7X75ks/UTTmVqTTJGI/AAAAAAAAOXs/Xl1flZAqhEw/s320/ubuntu-qt.png" title="ubuntu qt" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">According to a recent <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2013-March/036776.html">announcement</a>, <b>Ubuntu will use its own Display Server called Mir</b>, replacing X Window server. The reason Ubuntu will use its own display server is that "<i>none of the existing solutions would allow us to implement our vision without taking major compromises which would come at the cost of user experience and quality</i>" and obviously, to achieve full "<a href="https://www.google.com/?q=ubuntu+convergence#hl=en&safe=off&output=search&sclient=psy-ab&q=ubuntu+convergence&oq=ubuntu+convergence&gs_l=hp.12...0.0.0.2330.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0.les%3B..0.0...1c..5.psy-ab.jblqjOSfMjs&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43148975,d.ZWU&fp=7e9a22260310a8e3&biw=1252&bih=927">convergence</a>", a hot topic recently that has caused quite a bit of <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/107555540696571114069/posts/HSL2C21DJt7">controversy</a>.</div><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><h2>Mir, a display server that works across desktop and mobile devices</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Mir (as in the space station) will provide a graphics stack that works across different platforms and it will firstly replace SurfaceFlinger for the Phablet images and will eventually make it on the desktop.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>There will be two Mir libraries</b>: a server which will contain the server side components and will be used to implement a compositor and a client which will allow applications to communicate with Mir servers (used by toolkits). There are also going to be <a href="https://launchpad.net/qmir">Qt bindings</a> for Mir, an Unity System Compositor, a new Unity greeter implementation using Mir and Unity.<br /><br />Also, Mir will support multiple GPUs running in the same system. The MirSPec page mentions that it should support seamless transition between GPUs so maybe with this we'll finally get proper Optimus support on Linux.</div><br />Initially, Mir will only run if your system uses the free / open source drivers, but Canonical is in talks with GPU vendors to get Mir support for those drivers / GPUs:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">With our X-integration in place, you can run Mir on your desktop machine if your system runs a GPU that supports the free driver stack. For the closed-source desktop drivers: We are in active conversations with GPU vendors to enable Mir on those drivers/GPUs, too. More to this, we are working towards a more unified driver model sitting on top of EGL. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><i>- <a href="http://samohtv.wordpress.com/2013/03/04/mir-an-outpost-envisioned-as-a-new-home/">Thomas Voß</a>, Canonical Technical Architect</i></div></blockquote><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">If you're wondering what will happen to existing applications that require X, Mir has that covered and it will come with <b>support for legacy X applications</b>. Furthermore, there's no need of porting XUL and GTK3 (and obviously, Qt/QML) applications because the Ubuntu developers will work on providing Mir integration for these toolkits.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>Unity to be ported to Qt/QML</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The second big announcement of the day is that <b>Unity will be ported to Qt/QML</b> "<i>to make development more efficient across our wider convergent strategy</i>".</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">According to the <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UnityNextSpec">Unity Next Spec</a>, <b>Unity Next will be integrated on top of Mir, the UI will use Qt</b> and will use much of the code that's already available in the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/ubuntu-touch-developer-preview-and.html">Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview</a>. The ultimate goal is to provide a seamlessly scale across multiple form factors and carry Unity's visual design and identity. This means Unity on the phone, tablet, TV and desktop will share the <b>same code base</b>, so the "convergence" Mark Shuttleworth has talked about a while back is starting to take shape.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">With the recent <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/search/label/Ubuntu%20Touch?max-results=10">Ubuntu Touch</a> announcements, this makes sense, but there is something that I don't understand: why was Unity 2D, which is written in Qt/QML, <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2012/08/unity-2d-no-longer-installed-by-default.html">dropped from Ubuntu</a> and they've used the Compiz-based Unity on the desktop instead? And what's going to happen with the Compiz-based Unity? I just hope this isn't another rushed decision, like the recent <a href="https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2013-February/036502.html">changes to UDS</a> which is now an online only event and the <a href="http://www.webupd8.org/2013/02/official-ubuntu-rolling-release-proposal.html">rolling release proposal</a> that even Ubuntu members were surprised to hear about.<br /><br />I'm also starting to doubt that <b>Lubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu</b> will continue to exist after so many changes: rolling release, new display server, focus on Ubuntu Touch, etc. At least, in their current form: based on Ubuntu. Using Debian on the other hand should be a lot easier so maybe they'll switch to it? I guess we should find that out soon, after the Lubuntu, Xubuntu and Kubuntu teams analyze their options.</div><br /><br /><br /><h2>The plan</h2><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The target</b> is to have a first level/functional integration of Mir and Unity Next by May 2013, by October 2013 to have a Mir - UnityNext code base that could be taken to produce a phone and <b>reach full convergence by April 2014</b> (Ubuntu 14.04 LTS).</div><br /><br /><b>More about Mir</b>: <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MirSpec">https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MirSpec</a> | <a href="https://launchpad.net/mir">Mir source code</a><br /><br /><b>More about Unity Next</b>: <a href="https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UnityNextSpec">https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UnityNextSpec</a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Mir and Unity Next will be discussed at the <a href="http://uds.ubuntu.com/">Ubuntu Developer Summit</a> (which from now on will only take place online) which starts tomorrow.</div>

Ubuntu To Use Its Own Display Server Called Mir, Unity To Be Ported To Qt/QML

According to a recent announcement , Ubuntu will use its own Display Server called Mir , replacing X Window server. The reason Ubuntu will u...

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