Tux/Citable Version: Difference between revisions
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Yet at this point, [[Linus Torvalds]], the software engineer who had initiated the development of Linux, was unhappy with the idea of officially mocking other operating systems. So he posted his favorite image of a penguin and asked for someone artistic to base a logo on it 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 then emphatically stated that his penguin concept was final. | Yet at this point, [[Linus Torvalds]], the software engineer who had initiated the development of Linux, was unhappy with the idea of officially mocking other operating systems. So he posted his favorite image of a penguin and asked for someone artistic to base a logo on it 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 then emphatically stated that his penguin concept was final. | ||
Dale Scheetz posted a prototype drawing | Not long after, Dale Scheetz posted a prototype drawing of 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 | }}</ref> 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, 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, but 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. | ||
Revision as of 22:23, 13 April 2007
Tux the penguin is the official logo, and cartoon mascot, for the Linux computer operating system. The character was first drawn in 1996 by Larry Ewing.
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] In response, Mark Lehrer, posted that because Microsoft's Windows 95 — then the dominant commercial PC operating system — and not FreeBSD was Linux's real competition, the logo should instead show a penguin smashing a window.[4] Alan Clucas replied that these two ideas should be combined, with a Linux logo victorious over both its counterparts.[5]
Yet at this point, Linus Torvalds, the software engineer who had initiated the development of Linux, was unhappy with the idea of officially mocking other operating systems. So he posted his favorite image of a penguin and asked for someone artistic to base a logo on it and release it under a free license.[6] Torvalds then emphatically stated that his penguin concept was final.
Not long after, Dale Scheetz posted a prototype drawing of 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, 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, but happily gorged with fish.[8] Torvalds later noted that he was not looking for a "Linux Corporate Image", but for something fun that could be extensively modified but still recognizable. He had often expressed his affinity for penguins, once joking he caught "penguinitis" after being bitten by a ferocious penguin. He continued the joke by saying his "disease" caused him to "stay awake at nights just thinking about penguins and feeling great love towards them".[9]
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
- ↑ Matt Hartley (1996-05-5). Linux logo.
- ↑ David Christiansen. lin64.jpg.
- ↑ Alan Cox (1996-05-2). Re: Linux logo (LKML).
- ↑ Mark Lehrer (1996-05-4). Re: Linux logo.
- ↑ Alan Clucas (1996-05-4). Re: Linux logo.
- ↑ See ftp://ftp.cs.helsinki.fi/pub/Software/Linux/Kernel/v1.3/ccpenguin.jpg for the original image posted by Torvalds.
- ↑ Dale Scheetz (1996-05-9). Linux Logo prototype..
- ↑ Linus Torvalds (1996-05-9). Re: Linux Logo prototype..
- ↑ Steve Baker. A Complete History of Tux.
- ↑ A complete description of the methods Ewing used is on his website, http://www.isc.tamu.edu/~lewing/linux/notes.html.
- ↑ Henning Schmiedehausen (1996-06-10). Re: Let's name the penguin! (citation 1).
- ↑ James Hughes (1996-06-10). Re: Let's name the penguin! (citation 2).
- ↑ LD Landis (1996-06-12). Re: Let's name the penguin! (citation 3).
- ↑ Eric Harshbarger. Linux Penguin - LEGO.
- ↑ See http://www.free-penguin.org
Other software mascots
- The BSD Daemon, the mascot of the various Berkeley Software Distribution releases
- Wilber, the mascot of The GIMP
Subtopics
External links
- ccpenguin.jpg Torvalds' original penguin image. At his recommendation, Tux is based on this image