Linux Logo

Tux (mascot)

Tux (mascot) is the official brand and penguin character of the Linux kernel. It was originally made as an entry to a competition for the Linux logo. Tux is one of the most widely used characters for Linux. However, several Linux distributions represent Tux in many ways. The character is also used in various other programs of Linux and as a basic Linux symbol.

History of Tux

The idea of the brand character of Linux being a penguin arose from Linus Torvalds, who was the founder of Linux. Torvalds claims to include contracted "penguinitis", later being bitten by a penguin on the National Zoo & Aquarium, Canberra, Australia visit.

• At the 1994 AUUG Conference (5-9 September, Melbourne), Linus spoke as a part of the "World Tour" to Singapore, Australia, Belgium, and elsewhere, specifying in Linux Journal that he was nibbled by a penguin at National Canberra Zoo.
• In 2009, a sign said that staff trusted the "original Tux" was local in the penguin enclosure at Canberra Zoo.
• After a starting design recommendation in 1996 by Alan Cos, an image usage Torvalds saw on an FTP site displaying a penguin figurine represented in the same way as the Creature Comforts characters made by Nick Park, the idea of Tux was polished by Torvalds on the mailing list of Linux kernel.
• Torvalds was searching for something sympathetic and fun to collaborate with Linux, and he recognized that a lightly fat and sitting-down penguin, after having a full meal, fit the bill perfectly.

The original and final layout was a submission of a contest for the Linux logo by Larry Ewing, with the initial publicly published GIMP version (0.54), a graphics package of free software. Since Tux gained none of the three events that were believed, Tux is formally called the Linux brand character, not the Linux logo.

Tuz 2009

A Tasmanian devil, Tuz, wearing a false penguin nozzle, was the brand character of the linux.conf.au conference in 2009. It has been selected by Linus Torvalds as a logo for the 2.6.29 version of the Linux kernel for supporting the effort to protect the Tasmanian devil breeds from extinction because of the devil facial tumour disease.

The picture was made by Andrew McGown and remade as an SVG with Inkscape by Josh Bush and published under the license of CC BY-SA.

Linux for 2013 Workgroups

For the release of Linux 3.11-rc1, Linus Torvalds modified the code name to "Linux for Workgroups" from "Unicycling Gorilla" and changed the logo that a few systems show during boot to represent a Tux having a flag along with a symbol that the same as the Windows for Workgroups 3.11 logo, which was published in 1993.

Usage and Reception

In a few Linux distributions, such as Gentoo, Tux attends users during multi-processor system's booting showing multiple Tux images, one for every processor core.

Tux in video games

In the Linux community, Tux has a role that is the same as that which Mario has in the Nintendo community. This character has been displayed in open-source look-alikes of many mainstream games, including Tux Paint, SuperTuxKart, SuperTux, Extreme Tux Racer, and Tux Racer.

Female versions of Tux in video games

Also, a few games that star Tux explicitly include female penguin characters, permitting the players to enjoy as one of these characters rather than Tux. This type of female penguin is the friend "Gown" of Tux. Gown is differently represented as being a Tux pink version or having a little less fat presence and wearing clothing items like a hair bow and a white and red short skirt.

There is another female penguin known as "Penny" who is white and purple in SuperTuxKart and SuperTux. In the Tux 2 arcade game, a female penguin is known as "Trixi", and the name of the female leader for an Antarctican civilization in FreeCiv is "Tuxette".

Tux in famous culture

• Tux represents as a squeaky toy, a "secret weapon" for distracting a dog pack pulling a sled having the villain in the Froot Loops ads.
• Tux is represented as a character at the time of an arc in the User Friendly webcomic.
• In issue 234 "Joyride, part 1", the Tux plush toy represented in the Hellblazer comics, set on the roadside where a girl was shattered in a hit-and-run accident.