Unity (desktop environment)
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Unity 7.4, with the launcher displayed, running on Ubuntu 16.04.
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| Developer(s) | Canonical Ltd., The Ayatana Project contributors |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 9 June 2010 |
| Stable release |
7.5 / 25 May 2016
|
| Repository | code |
| Development status | Scheduled to be discontinued by Canonical, forked |
| Written in |
Unity 2D: C++, JavaScript, QML 2.0–7.4: C, C++, Python, Vala 8: C++ and QML |
| Operating system |
Ubuntu Desktop Ubuntu TV Ubuntu Touch |
| Type | |
| License | GPL v3, LGPL v3 |
| Website |
unity.ubuntu.com launchpad.net/unity |
Unity is a graphical shell for the GNOME desktop environment originally developed by Canonical Ltd. for its Ubuntu operating system. Unity debuted in the netbook edition of Ubuntu 10.10. It was initially designed to make more efficient use of space given the limited screen size of netbooks, including, for example, a vertical application switcher called the launcher, and a space-saving horizontal multipurpose top menu bar.
Unlike GNOME, KDE Software Compilation, Xfce, or LXDE, Unity is not a collection of applications but is designed to use existing programs.
Unity is part of the Ayatana project, an initiative with the stated intention of improving the user experience within Ubuntu. In addition to Unity, there are Application Indicators and other projects such as MeMenu, the notification system and the application NotifyOSD gathered.
On 5 April 2017 Mark Shuttleworth announced that Canonical's work on Unity will end and that Ubuntu 18.04 LTS, a year away from release at the time, will abandon the Unity desktop and employ the GNOME 3 desktop instead, as Canonical moves away from its ambitions to produce a unified cell phone and desktop operating system and concentrates on desktop, cloud computing and Internet of things platforms instead. UBports founder Marius Gripsgård announced that the organization would continue Unity development.
The Unity user interface consists of several components:
The following lenses and scopes are installed by default:
Ubuntu TV, running a Unity variant, was introduced at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. Created for SmartTVs, Ubuntu TV provides access to popular Internet services and stream content to mobile devices running Android, iOS and Ubuntu.
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