You have to try different solutions before you'd find best. It's not a waste, it's a competition and it's necessary in a free market.
In the case or Mir:
- it's like creating an alternative linux kernel. Very few chances it will succeed.
- even they roadmap didn't list anything wayland couldn't do.
- canonical doesn't have that much cash to waste.
I would have get Mir if they would have said:
- we will do X that wayland clearly can't do and that we can't contribute to wayland;
- we have tons of cash and devs and can spare a few to experiment.
It's just not the case here.
This is open source, we all want a better linux desktop, not a war. Mir felt more like starting a battle than solving a problem.
In open source, making your own project is not starting a war. This kind of flaming and demanding to control other people's allocations of resources is what makes a battle.
Since I spend easily 50 hours every year on the Ubuntu project and give to the project, I think I have the right to post a comment on HN saying "I disagree".
That's not a too much to ask is it ?
Especially since people disagreeing ending up being right.