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Just a few changes; giving a brief history about personification especially in japan, and the -tan suffix. I'll be back for more though...
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The '''OS-tans''' are an Internet phenomenon on [[Futaba Channel]]; the '''OS-tan''' or simply '''OS Girls''' are the personification of several operating systems by various amateur Japanese artists. Although a pure fan creation, the appearance of each OS Girl is generally consistent across artists. The OS Girls are typically depicted as women, with the OS Girls representative of Microsoft Windows operating systems usually depicted as sisters of varying ages. | The '''OS-tans''' are an Internet phenomenon on [[Futaba Channel]]; the '''OS-tan''' or simply '''OS Girls''' are the personification of several operating systems by various amateur Japanese artists. Although a pure fan creation, the appearance of each OS Girl is generally consistent across artists. The OS Girls are typically depicted as women, with the OS Girls representative of Microsoft Windows (and other operating systems as well) usually depicted as sisters of varying ages. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
===A Summary about Personification=== | |||
Natural phenomenon such as the animal and the stone, the thunder and the wind, god/s and spirits, etc. which exists along with humans are very common in myths and fables. Legends such as an animal or a plant that changes into a human form (or vice-versa) not only exist in fairy tales and fables, but such religious stories as well. Whether those stories were hearsay or not, it continued to spread in the form of caricature, novels, etc. | |||
As those stories being passed, learned, taught, and used for amusement, etc. It is commonly adapted in cartoons especially in anime and manga where most characters are personified in the human form just like the [[List of OS-tans | OS-Tans]], in which they have the following traits of the operating system they respectively represent. | |||
In Japan, personification is not a thing to the extent that is alike especially in creative culture as a whole and can be called unique. It is to believe that the first personification related to computers is the OS-idol Win-chan of the Yoshizaki Kannon which is also a mascot of [http://www.enterbrain.co.jp/techwin/ TECHWIN Magazine]. So as the Princess of BSD-Magical Toko-chan. She is portrayed as an outrider, and to go back even to the time of a 8-bit model in the 1980s. | |||
===Popularity from the Early Times to the Present=== | |||
The concept is reported to have begun as a personification of the common perception of [[Me-tan|Windows Me]] as unstable and prone to frequent crashes. Discussions on Futaba Channel likened this to the stereotype of a fickle, troublesome girl. This personification expanded, with the creation of Me-tan (dated to August 6 2003) followed by the other characters. | The concept is reported to have begun as a personification of the common perception of [[Me-tan|Windows Me]] as unstable and prone to frequent crashes. Discussions on Futaba Channel likened this to the stereotype of a fickle, troublesome girl. This personification expanded, with the creation of Me-tan (dated to August 6 2003) followed by the other characters. | ||
!-- Previous versions of this article claimed one story or the other as fact, and also stated that Futaba Channel and [[2chan]] were independent sources each credited with the origin. Checking of facts and reference-gathering needs to be done, I'm just editing. I believe part of the futaba/2channel confusion comes from the fact that English speakers usually call [[Futaba Channel]] 2chan, because futaba's internet address is 2chan.net. It is however recognized to be separate from 2ch.net, which is what Japanese refer to as [[2channel]]. Therefore, someone talking about 2chan really means futaba chan and not 2channel -- | !-- Previous versions of this article claimed one story or the other as fact, and also stated that Futaba Channel and [[2chan]] were independent sources each credited with the origin. Checking of facts and reference-gathering needs to be done, I'm just editing. I believe part of the futaba/2channel confusion comes from the fact that English speakers usually call [[Futaba Channel]] 2chan, because futaba's internet address is 2chan.net. It is however recognized to be separate from 2ch.net, which is what Japanese refer to as [[2channel]]. Therefore, someone talking about 2chan really means futaba chan and not 2channel -- | ||
A large collection of these images can be found [http://nijiura-os.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ here]. Some of the comics have been translated by readers on 4chan and idlechan. They have been archived at [http://www.otakubell.com/os-girls Trouble Windows Translations], along with the Japanese counterparts. | A large collection of these images can be found [http://nijiura-os.hp.infoseek.co.jp/ here]. Some of the comics have been translated by readers on 4chan and idlechan. They have been archived at [http://www.otakubell.com/os-girls Trouble Windows Translations], along with the Japanese counterparts. | ||
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Mac OS X, Linux, and Linspire girls have also shown up on the Internet, although some non-OS male characters exist for programs and hardware. [[Norton Antivirus]] is usually portrayed as a creepy looking, possibly lecherous old doctor. Predating all of this is [http://www.toyboxarts.com/gallery/extra/mbabes-iCandy1/mbabes.html Toy's iMac Girl], the feature of a series of wallpapers first appearing between August 1998 and March 1999. | Mac OS X, Linux, and Linspire girls have also shown up on the Internet, although some non-OS male characters exist for programs and hardware. [[Norton Antivirus]] is usually portrayed as a creepy looking, possibly lecherous old doctor. Predating all of this is [http://www.toyboxarts.com/gallery/extra/mbabes-iCandy1/mbabes.html Toy's iMac Girl], the feature of a series of wallpapers first appearing between August 1998 and March 1999. | ||
==The -tan Suffix== | |||
The Japanese suffix ''-tan'' (#12383;#12435;) is a child's mispronunciation of ''-chan'' (#12385;#12419;#12435;), an informal, intimate, and diminutive honorific suffix for a person used for friends, family, and pets. In this case, the mispronunciation is used intentionally to achieve the contrived cute or charming effect that is commonly associated with its use by young children. It is also sometimes added to the names of non-mascot characters, such as Sakura from ''Cardcaptor Sakura''. The personifications as a whole are commonly simply called mascots or mascot characters. The ''-tan'' suffix itself means nothing outside its role as an honorific and its implications of cuteness; it is never used on its own. Normal suffixes including ''-san'', ''-chan'', and ''-kun'' are also used with OS Girls depending on the character and the speaker's preference, or omitted entirely. A common misconception is that ''-tan'' is a word meaning mascot or its addition to a name denotes a character being a mascot or personification. This is not so. Furthermore, the ''-tan'' suffix has largely fallen out of favor with the original creators of the OS Girls on Futaba Channel. Various and varying suffixes and names are used instead, for instance, the Windows 98 and Windows 98SE OS Girls are most commonly called Hacchan and Secchan. | |||
== References and in-jokes == | == References and in-jokes == | ||
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== See also== | == See also== | ||
*[[List of OS-tans]] | *[[List of OS-tans]] | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
*[http://www.2chan.net/ Futaba Channel] mdash; Posting is possible only from Japanese IP address ranges, however anyone can read regardless of location. | *[http://www.2chan.net/ Futaba Channel] mdash; Posting is possible only from Japanese IP address ranges, however anyone can read regardless of location. | ||
*[http://nijiura. | *[http://nijiura.com/os/ The current OS-tan Image Board] mdash; This imageboard's community allows contributed images and descriptions in English, however all following discussion must be in Japanese. | ||
*[http://www.wakachan.org/os/wakaba.html Net Characters] mdash; An English-language non-Futaba image board focusing on 'OS-tan' and other net characters. | *[http://www.wakachan.org/os/wakaba.html Net Characters] mdash; An English-language non-Futaba image board focusing on 'OS-tan' and other net characters. | ||
*[http://www.otakubell.com/os-girls/ A current OS-tan translation archive, in English and other languages] | *[http://www.otakubell.com/os-girls/ A current OS-tan translation archive, in English and other languages] | ||
*[http:// | *[http://{{SERVERNAME}}/ OS-Tan Collections] mdash; A dedicated OS tan forum for international users. Aside from actively collecting OS-tan pictures, downloadables and winamp skins, members are also engaged in an ongoing fancomic, OS-tan comic translations and the creation of new OS-tans. | ||
