On most computers running Linux he’ll show up while the kernel is starting up the main services, once for every processor in your system. This little picture in compiled into the kernel and, if you have the sources on your system (like on almost all Slackware installations), you can find him at /usr/src/linux/drivers/video/logo in his various forms (black & white, color, with several architecture-logos, etc.)
The most well-known version is in the logo_linux_clut224.ppm file:

Who likes to use the latest version of the kernel, will have noticed that as of 2.6.29, Tux has been replaced by… Tuz:

Tuz is a little Tasmanian Devil trying to disguise as a penguin

Linus Torvalds had already announced this chance in his blog and as most understood, this is a temporary change, only in the 2.6.29.x kernels.

But for those who can’t wait and really do not like Tuz, it is possible to compile your own kernel with Tux on your screen again.

First you’ll have to get hold of the original logo_linux_clut224.ppm with the image from Tux. Get it from a system still running the 2.6.28.x kernel or older, or find it on the internet. Save this file in /usr/src/linux/drivers/video/logo/ and then follow these standard steps to compile your kernel:

• # cd /usr/src/linux
• # make mrproper
• Copy the configuration file of your current kernel (usually in /boot) as .config here
• # make menuconfig
• In the configuration menu, choose “General setup” and change the “Local version” to something like “-tux”, so that you can recognize your custom kernel later. Exit the menu saving your change.
• # make (this will take a while, depending on your processing power…)
• # make modules_install
• # cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/vmlinuz-tux
• # cp System.map /boot/System.map-tux
• # cp .config /boot/config-tux
• If you used an initrd with your normal kernel, you’ll need to create one for this custom kernel as well
• Add your new kernel to your lilo.conf, run lilo and reboot!

If you feel like it you can also experiment with other pictures…

Today there was a post on LinuxQuestions.org by w1k0, who reported something strange with the Linux logo on his ThinkPad T60. The colors were all wrong (Tux had a green belly, blue background) and… to the left-side there was an inscription saying “Simon”.

I suggested checking the vga-setting in lilo, but was intrigued by this mysterious inscription.
I am familiar with the history of the Linux logo created by Larry Ewing and the vectorized version by Simon Budig, so I thought of the possibility of a hidden text in the bitmap.

I opened the logo (the standard 224-color version is called logo_linux_clut224.ppm), which can normally be found in /usr/src/linux/drivers/video/logo/, in the gimp.

And I found nothing. So I already started thinking that someone was pulling a joke on w1k0 and had messed with his kernel. But that seemed weird… This someone would have to compile a new kernel, just to get a green-bellied penguin with the name Simon at boot-time.

Then I thought of steganography and how this inscription could be hidden. Since it showed up (with the wrong color) on w1k0’s screen, it must be of a color almost equal to the background.

So I opened the logo in the gimp again, clicked on the color-selection tool and changed the ‘limit’-setting to 0,0. Then I clicked on a random spot on the black background and Bingo!
There really is a hidden inscription in the Linux logo!

To make it visible, I painted the pixels red and enlarged the bitmap.
The result is here, but do check it out on your own file!

As it says on the cover, it comes with KDE 1.1, so this was my new project.
According to the cover from the original 4-disc box, we’re talking June 1999 now.
This is when Tux started smoking a pipe (he was not smoking on the previous Slackware boxes I have). I also have the impression he gained some weight since the previous version.
Well, I guess this is when Tux became a real Slacker…

Installing it, after my experiences with 3.5 & 1.1.2, was simple and fast.
I configured XF86Config in /etc, as in 3.5, and fired up X. The result is here:

Slackware 4.0 was the version I used most. The previous versions were interesting experiences and taught me a lot, struggling to find out how to configure things, etc. After 3.1, 3.4, 3.5 and 3.6 this was the first version I really enjoyed as an operating system, not as some kind of a science project. This is where I started feeling that I was “in control”.
I still have 4.0 running on a 486 notebook, after all those years…