Tux/Citable Version: Difference between revisions

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Yet [[Linus Torvalds]], the software engineer behind Linux, could not endorse the official mocking of other operating systems, so he countered with his own idea. Someone artistic should base a logo on his favorite image of a penguin and release it under a free license.<ref>See [ftp://ftp.cs.helsinki.fi/pub/Software/Linux/Kernel/v1.3/ccpenguin.jpg ftp://ftp.cs.helsinki.fi/pub/Software/Linux/Kernel/v1.3/ccpenguin.jpg] for the original image posted by Torvalds.</ref>  Torvalds emphatically stated that his penguin concept was final.
Yet [[Linus Torvalds]], the software engineer behind Linux, could not endorse the official mocking of other operating systems, so he countered with his own idea. Someone artistic should base a logo on his favorite image of a penguin and release it under a free license.<ref>See [ftp://ftp.cs.helsinki.fi/pub/Software/Linux/Kernel/v1.3/ccpenguin.jpg ftp://ftp.cs.helsinki.fi/pub/Software/Linux/Kernel/v1.3/ccpenguin.jpg] for the original image posted by Torvalds.</ref>  Torvalds emphatically stated that his penguin concept was final.


Not long after, Dale Scheetz posted a prototype drawing of penguin holding up the Earth.<ref>{{cite web
Not long after, Dale Scheetz posted a prototype of a penguin holding up the Earth.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9605/0930.html
| url=http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9605/0930.html
| title=Linux Logo prototype.
| title=Linux Logo prototype.
| author=Dale Scheetz
| author=Dale Scheetz
| date=1996-05-9
| date=1996-05-9
}}</ref> Torvalds was doubtful, however, saying the penguin looked too weak to hoist an entire planet &mdash; the bird appeared in imminent danger of being squashed, in fact! The penguin, Torvalds thought, should instead be cute and cuddly.  He envisioned him sitting, content and smiling, having just let out a small burp after a grand feast of herring. The penguin was not to be fat either, just happily gorged with fish.<ref>{{cite web
}}</ref> Torvalds was doubtful, however, saying the penguin looked too weak to hoist an entire planet &mdash; the bird appeared in imminent danger of being squashed, in fact! The penguin logo, Torvalds thought, should instead be cute and cuddly.  He envisioned the bird sitting, content and smiling, having just let out a small burp after a grand feast of herring. And he was not to be fat, just happily gorged with fish.<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9605/0855.html
| url=http://www.ussg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9605/0855.html
| title=Re: Linux Logo prototype.
| title=Re: Linux Logo prototype.
| author=Linus Torvalds
| author=Linus Torvalds
| date=1996-05-9
| date=1996-05-9
}}</ref> Torvalds later indicated he was not looking for a "Linux Corporate Image", but for something fun that could be extensively modified yet still be recognizable. He had often expressed his affinity for penguins, once joking he caught "penguinitis" after being bitten by a ferocious one. He continued the joke saying his "disease" caused him to "stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards them".<ref>{{cite web
}}</ref> Later, Torvalds indicated he was not looking for a "Linux Corporate Image", but for something fun that could be extensively modified yet still be recognizable. He had often expressed his affinity for penguins, once joking he caught "penguinitis" after being bitten by a ferocious one. He continued the joke saying his "disease" caused him to "stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards them".<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.sjbaker.org/tux/#why1
| url=http://www.sjbaker.org/tux/#why1
| title=A Complete History of Tux
| title=A Complete History of Tux

Revision as of 21:47, 13 April 2007

Tux the penguin, the Linux mascot, as he most commonly appears.

Template:Dablink

Tux the penguin is the official logo, and cartoon mascot, for the Linux computer operating system. First drawn in 1996 by Larry Ewing, the fun-loving character has a special place in imaginations both inside and outside of the global Linux community.

An early sketch of Tux, depicting how Linux's early developers felt their operating system was geared up for competition with other operating systems.

Tux originated from a discussion on the Usenet "Linux kernel" mailing list. On May 1, 1996, Matt Hartley began a thread titled "Linux logo", which included an image by David Christiansen showing the planet Earth as seen from outer space, along with the captions "LINUX" and "Take your computer to another dimension."[1][2] The next day Alan Cox posted a message suggesting that the Linux logo should be "a picture of the BSD daemon" — the logo for another open source operating system — "flat out on the floor with stars around its head and a penguin in boxing gloves standing on top."[3] Disagreeing, Mark Lehrer countered that FreeBSD was not Linux's real competition. Microsoft's Windows 95 was — then the dominant operating system worldwide — so the logo should instead show a penguin smashing a window.[4] Alan Clucas countered back that these two ideas should be combined, with a Linux logo victorious over both its counterparts.[5]

Yet Linus Torvalds, the software engineer behind Linux, could not endorse the official mocking of other operating systems, so he countered with his own idea. Someone artistic should base a logo on his favorite image of a penguin and release it under a free license.[6] Torvalds emphatically stated that his penguin concept was final.

Not long after, Dale Scheetz posted a prototype of a penguin holding up the Earth.[7] Torvalds was doubtful, however, saying the penguin looked too weak to hoist an entire planet — the bird appeared in imminent danger of being squashed, in fact! The penguin logo, Torvalds thought, should instead be cute and cuddly. He envisioned the bird sitting, content and smiling, having just let out a small burp after a grand feast of herring. And he was not to be fat, just happily gorged with fish.[8] Later, Torvalds indicated he was not looking for a "Linux Corporate Image", but for something fun that could be extensively modified yet still be recognizable. He had often expressed his affinity for penguins, once joking he caught "penguinitis" after being bitten by a ferocious one. He continued the joke saying his "disease" caused him to "stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards them".[9]

A Tux the penguin plush toy, made from a freely available cut-out pattern.

Larry Ewing drew the original version of Tux — on a computer running Linux, of course.[10] Once completed, the new mascot needed a name. Humorously, one of the earliest suggestions, from Henning Schmiedehausen, was to call the penguin "Homer", because of its resemblance to the television character Homer Simpson.[11] As a joke, Tux was later re-drawn by Anton Johansson as an image of Homer morphed into a penguin. There were also some early references to the penguin as "Linnie". However, "Tux", coined by James Hughes, soon caught on. This name had a two-fold meaning, both as an acronym for Torvalds Unix, and as a pun based on the shortening of tuxedo, which penguins are often said to be wearing.[12][13]

Like Linux itself, Tux has never been static. From the beginning, people have decided to "play with" and re-draw him in "goofy" ways. Among his creative castings, Tux has been a skateboarder, a ninja, and a pipe-smoker. He has appeared in magazines, television broadcasts, video games and other software, and on mouse-pads. His persona has been emblemed onto clothing, stickers, and other paraphernalia. Sculptor Eric Harshbarger made a 25" Lego model of Tux,[14] and anyone can make a plush toy out of him (see photo at right) from freely available cut-out patterns.[15]

Tux may have competing romantic involvements. Gown and Penny, two female penguins, have appeared in several open source games. Tux's status remains unclear, however, since the gals are not official Linux projects. Irrespective, Tux the penguin has certainly captured imaginations, both inside and outside of the global community of Linux fans.

References

  1. ↑ Matt Hartley (1996-05-5). Linux logo.
  2. ↑ David Christiansen. lin64.jpg.
  3. ↑ Alan Cox (1996-05-2). Re: Linux logo (LKML).
  4. ↑ Mark Lehrer (1996-05-4). Re: Linux logo.
  5. ↑ Alan Clucas (1996-05-4). Re: Linux logo.
  6. ↑ See ftp://ftp.cs.helsinki.fi/pub/Software/Linux/Kernel/v1.3/ccpenguin.jpg for the original image posted by Torvalds.
  7. ↑ Dale Scheetz (1996-05-9). Linux Logo prototype..
  8. ↑ Linus Torvalds (1996-05-9). Re: Linux Logo prototype..
  9. ↑ Steve Baker. A Complete History of Tux.
  10. ↑ A complete description of the methods Ewing used is on his website, http://www.isc.tamu.edu/~lewing/linux/notes.html.
  11. ↑ Henning Schmiedehausen (1996-06-10). Re: Let's name the penguin! (citation 1).
  12. ↑ James Hughes (1996-06-10). Re: Let's name the penguin! (citation 2).
  13. ↑ LD Landis (1996-06-12). Re: Let's name the penguin! (citation 3).
  14. ↑ Eric Harshbarger. Linux Penguin - LEGO.
  15. ↑ See http://www.free-penguin.org

Other software mascots

Subtopics

Larry Ewing

External links

  • ccpenguin.jpg Torvalds' original penguin image. At his recommendation, Tux is based on this image
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