Tux (mascot)

Tux is a penguin character and the official mascot of the Linux kernel.[1] Originally created as an entry to a Linux logo competition, Tux is the most commonly used icon for Linux, although different Linux distributions depict Tux in various styles. The character is used in many other Linux programs and as a general symbol of Linux.

History

The concept of the Linux brand character being a penguin came from Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux. According to Jeff Ayers, Linus Torvalds had a "fixation for flightless, fat waterfowl" and Torvalds claims to have contracted "penguinitis" after being nibbled by a little penguin on a visit to the National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra, Australia,[2][3] in 1993.[4]

Uses and reception

In some Linux distributions, for example Gentoo,[23] Tux greets the user during booting with multi-processor systems displaying multiple images of Tux, one for each processor core.

Video games

Tux has taken on a role in the Linux community similar to that which Mario holds in the Nintendo community.[24] The character has been featured in open-source look-alikes of other mainstream games, such as Tux Racer, Extreme Tux Racer, SuperTux, SuperTuxKart, and Tux Paint.[25][26]

Team Fortress 2

Tux appears as a cosmetic item in the game Team Fortress 2,[27] following the release of the Linux version of the game and the Steam client.[28] It was obtainable by launching the game on any Linux distribution, from February 14 to March 1, 2013.[29][30]

Female Tux versions in video games

Some games that star Tux also include explicitly female penguin characters, allowing the players to play as one of those characters instead of Tux. One such female penguin is Tux's friend "Gown". Gown is variously depicted as being a pink version of Tux (XTux) or as having a somewhat less fat appearance and wearing items of clothing such as a red and white short skirt and a hair bow (e.g. TuxKart and A Quest for Herring).

In SuperTux and SuperTuxKart, there is a different female penguin called "Penny" who is purple and white (SuperTuxKart once had Gown and still has a map called "Gown's Bow").

Team Fortress 2

Female Tux versions in video games

In SuperTux and SuperTuxKart, there is a different female penguin called "Penny" who is purple and white (SuperTuxKart once had Gown and still has a map called "Gown's Bow"). In the arcade game Tux 2 there is a female penguin called "Trixi", and in FreeCiv the female leader name for the Antarctican civilization is "Tuxette".

Tux in popular culture

In the comics Hellblazer, in issue #234 "Joyride, part 1", a Tux plush toy makes an appearance, set on the side of the road where a little girl was killed in a hit-and-run incident.
Tux appeared as a character during one arc in the webcomic User Friendly.

Other uses

In 1999, Corel Linux Deluxe included a free Linux Penguin (Tux) toy.[31]
Introduced in 2001, there was a Linux-based web server named TUX, which was deprecated around 2006.
In 2006, Tux had an uncredited use in the Al Gore's Penguin Army video.
In 2007, Tux was used by the German cutlery producer WMF in the Sealion set for children.[32]
In 2008, Tux has also been made as a virtual pet under the name Tux Droid by Kysoh for Linux and Windows, has many features including reading tweets from Twitter and checking the weather.
Since 2009, TuxGuitar, a free guitar tab reading/editing program, features Tux holding a guitar as its brand character.[33]

franchise	Linux
first date	May 9, 1996
creator	Larry Ewing
nicknames	Linux
species	Penguin

History

Tuz 2009

Linux for Workgroups 2013

Uses and reception

Video games

Team Fortress 2

Female Tux versions in video games

Team Fortress 2

Female Tux versions in video games

Tux in popular culture

Other uses

Variations of Tux

See also

External links

References