The H Open 2/13/12: Wayland – Beyond X. Although current discussion of the Linux desktop tends to focus on the disharmony around Unity and the GNOME shell, the true revolution on the desktop is taking place out of sight of users. The Wayland display server is expected to reach version 1.0 later this year, and is seen by many as the long term replacement for the X Window System, with real potential to improve and transform the performance of the desktop for Linux users. Wayland is a Linux program intended to replace X Windows, and is named after the town of Wayland.