The developer who did the port also posted a video to prove that it works

Mar 6, 2014 09:57 GMT  ·  By

Canonical is still working hard on the Mir display server, and a developer has just posted an important update regarding the evolution of Mir.

The Mir display server was initially scheduled for launch in Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, but the Ubuntu developers decided that it wasn't quite ready for the public. Another problem was that some applications would not work on Mir, for obvious reasons, and Chromium is just one of them.

Ubuntu developer Robert Carr has brought us some good news on this front and announced that Chromium has been ported successfully on the Mir display server, and he even has video proof to show for it.

Getting Chromium to work on Mir doesn't seem important at first glance, but you have to keep in mind that it's also the base for Google Chrome and Opera (if the Opera developers decide to release a Linux version anytime soon).

If Chromium works on Mir, it also means that it works on Unity8, the version that is now used on Ubuntu for phones and tablets. The desktop build could arrive as soon as Ubuntu 14.10 (in October, 2014), but there is no guarantee.

“As an Ubuntu developer, focused on the Ubuntu Touch mobile story, this is even more exciting though! Chromium running on Mir is the first and biggest step towards running Chromium in Unity 8, ensuring a diverse browser ecosystem for the future of Ubuntu,” said Robert Carr in the announcement, which he shared on Google+.

Besides the obvious functionality of Chromium, the developer also showed WebGL working without a hitch, Google Maps, and even YouTube. For more technical details about the porting process, you can check the developer's announcement on Google+.