In some Linux distributions, for example
Gentoo, 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. 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.
Team Fortress 2 Tux appears as a cosmetic item in the game
Team Fortress 2, following the release of the Linux version of the game and the Steam client. It was obtainable by launching the game on any Linux distribution, from February 14 to March 1, 2013.
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"). 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. • 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. • 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. • In 2010, a prototype of a Tux
monument with wings was presented in the Russian city of
Tyumen by the local Linux user community. • The avatar of
Electronica artist
Ephixa is based on Tux (around 2011). • In April 2016, Tux was adapted to a
designer toy called a Gwin and was distributed by October Toys. The toy was redesigned by different artists and sold in short collectible runs through the October Toys website and other collectable vinyl toy sites. October Toys has since ceased operations. ==Variations of Tux==