Tux
Tux is the name of the official mascot of Linux. Created by Larry Ewing in 1996, he is a giggly and comical looking little penguin based on an image Linus Torvalds found on an FTP server.
Origin
There are two versions of the origin of its name. The first suggests that the name arises from the fact that the penguins appear to be wearing a tuxedo (which in English is tuxedo, abbreviated tux). The second is that the letters that make up Tux come from the words Torvald’s Unix.
Tux was designed during a contest to choose a Linux isotype. The tools used for its creation were, of course, a computer running the Linux kernel operating system and the free image manipulation software GIMP. Some of the submitted images are still available on the contest site.
All Linux distributions or free software have a version of Tux to display it such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Suse, among others.
Use
The logo can be used and modified without restriction, as long as Larry Ewing's authorship is acknowledged, as indicated on his page.
Tux has become an icon for the Linux and free software communities; a group of British linuxers has even adopted a penguin at Bristol Zoo. He is much more famous than his great friend, GNU, a peaceful and somewhat shy wildebeest who represents the GNU or GNU/Linux project.
Versions
Depending on the context it can change its appearance; for example, representing the PaX security algorithm, he has a helmet, an axe, a shield, and red eyes. Tux is the protagonist of several games for Linux. He also appears as a character in the User Friendly comic strip.
On some Linux distributions, Tux greets the user at startup; systems with multiple processors show as many Tuxes as there are cores on the system. Beastie, BSD's mascot, is considered by some to be Tux's worst enemy.
Love, (amusing misuse of system resources, something like "funny waste of system resources") is a jolly Tux who walks around windows on the desktop and sometimes drills them or flies away with a propeller, as well as giving advice and help on the operating system and programs.
Curiosities
The Tyumen (Russia) Linux user community has erected a monument to Tux.