When Mark Shuttleworth announced that future versions of Ubuntu will use Unity by default on the desktop many users of Linux Mint, a highly polished Ubuntu-derived distribution, were left wondering what it would use.
Mint: no to Unity, no to gnome-shell
In an interview with free software oriented news site Muktware, Linux Mint developer Clement Lefevbre has clarified that the Ubuntu-based distribution will not switch to Unity in future releases, instead keeping the same user interface as it currently uses.
“We’re not planning to switch to Unity but to keep our desktop as similar as it is at the moment. So it’s hard to say how we’ll achieve this technically but we’re aiming at using Gnome without Gnome Shell.”
But, what about Wayland?
When asked about the topic of Wayland, he said:
“It’s an interesting project. Ubuntu isn’t going to switch to it this year and we’ll see future releases keep X for now. The backing of Canonical behind this project could bring it up to speed as a really interesting alternative and a good successor to X, just as it could make it something that only suits Ubuntu itself.. the future will tell. For now we’re sticking with X with no plans to change, but we’ll keep an eye on the development of Wayland and see where it’s going in the near future”
What about the Future?
He concluded:
“Mint 10 is about to be released, and Mint 11 will come with the same desktop and the same X server in about 6 months time.”
Via Muktware