What's with the penguin?

ArchW · 03-05-2006, 07:08 AM

I am just starting to look into Linux. What's with the penguin logo I see everywhere? How did that come to be the symbol for Linux?

Arch

Lim45 · 03-05-2006, 07:16 AM

Seems that Linus Torvalds just likes penguins:-

Quote:

"Linus likes penguins". That's it. There was even a headline on it in some Linux Journal some time ago (I was bitten by a Killer Penguin in Australia - I'm not kidding). Penguins are fun.

As to why use a penguin as a logo? No good reason, really. But a logo doesn't really ave to _mean_ anything - it's the association that counts. And I can think of many worse things than have linux being associated with penguins.

Having a penguin as a logo also gives more freedom to people wanting to use linux-related material: instead of being firmly fixed with a specific logo (the triangle, or just "Linux 2.0" or some other abstract thing), using something like a penguin gives people the chance to make modifications that are still recognizable.

So you can have a real live penguin on a CD cover, for example, and people will get the association. Or you can have a penguin that does something specific (a Penguin writing on wordperfect for the WP Linux CD, whatever - you get the idea).

Compare that to a more abstract logo (like the windows logo - it's not a bad logo in itself). You can't really do anything with a logo like that. It just "is".

Quoted from "A Complete History of Tux", here:-

http://www.sjbaker.org/tux/#begi

spoody_goon · 03-05-2006, 07:52 AM

What would you have Linux use as a logo or symbol a butterfly, who in there right mind would use a butterfly.

Oh wait never mind.

pixellany · 03-05-2006, 08:37 AM

If you have seen the movie "March of the Penguins", then you can see some parallels: Teamwork, struggle for survival, etc.
Look at the scene where they are all huddled for the winter--keeping each other warm and protecting their eggs. That's us.
The brutal antartic winter is of course a metaphor for the MS establishment.

Only you can decide the truth......

XavierP · 03-05-2006, 01:35 PM

Moved: This thread is more suitable in General and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

craigevil · 03-05-2006, 06:10 PM

A Complete History of Tux - so Far.
http://www.sjbaker.org/tux/#why1

masonm · 03-05-2006, 10:31 PM

Tux is cool. That's enough.

microsoft/linux · 03-05-2006, 11:06 PM

Initially, I think that's one of the reasons I like linux, it had a cool logo! Seriously though, tux is probably the coolest logo I've seen(w/ the BSD daemon coming in close 2nd)

floppywhopper · 03-06-2006, 12:24 AM

and my prediction is :-

the penguin will give the butterfly

THE FLIPPER OF DEATH

.

Harmaa Kettu · 03-06-2006, 02:23 AM

Quote:

the penguin will give the butterfly

THE FLIPPER OF DEATH

Have you seen this?

floppywhopper · 03-06-2006, 07:42 AM

Yes I have, I had it as wallpaper for a while

however the term
"Flipper of Death"
is from the DVD "Madagascar"
the short film
Madagsacar Penguins and the Christmas caper

In the commentary by the penguins
the skipper asks the private why he didn't give the poodle the "Flipper of Death"

cheers
floppy

samuelmp · 04-02-2006, 01:48 PM

I once read that linus travods got bit my a penguin at a zoo so he used it as his logo

KimVette · 04-02-2006, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spoody_goon

What would you have Linux use as a logo or symbol a butterfly, who in there right mind would use a butterfly.

Oh wait never mind.

Why not a butterfly? I have a nice butterfly tattoo on my back!

No, not the M$ butterfly - a butterfly I was drawing for a while, then saw a tat with the exact same butterfly I had in mind and had been drawing, just changed the coloring a bit and had it done.

The same could be asked of the BSD logo: why a devil? Isn't Satan supposed to be evil? Wouldn't Beastie, being a demon, be a servant of Satan? The answer is: it's just a cute recognizable drawing and the FreeBSD folks liked it, so they used it as their logo for a good long while. With that said, Tux is cute and is a great memorable logo.

sumguy231 · 04-02-2006, 07:51 PM

Beastie would like to remind you he's a daemon, not a demon.

http://ars.userfriendly.org/cartoons/?id=19990323

KimVette · 04-02-2006, 07:56 PM

Beastie is a demon
A backgrounded process in Unix is a daemon