LinuxLife.org

Linux. The Internet's Operating System.

Linux Banners

This site encourages the creation and use of Linux related banners for web pages. By promoting Linux on the World Wide Web we can make it more visible and thus more appealing to developers, individuals and the commercial sector. If you maintain a popular web site you may wish to put a Linux banner on it, even if the site's content is completely unrelated to Linux or computers. If you are a Linux user you may wish to spice up your home page with a Linux banner or three.

All banners on this page are free. If you would like to use them on your site there's some sample html and also NEW scripts for randomly serving banner images here. If you create a Linux banner or can offer related services (such as a public randomiser) please mail me so I can add a link to this page.

Chris Airriess has set up a randomiser that anyone can link to in their web pages. For details on using it, check out the sample html page.

Zapping Ads and replacing them with Linux banners

If you're on a low bandwidth connection or you simply don't like commercial banner advertisements, you can set up a filter to replace the banner ads you see on other sites with Linux banners. Details on setting up this filter using a local squid proxy, can be found at Cameron Simpson's page Ad Zapping with Squid.

See also How to block banner advertisements using squid by Craig Sanders.

Contrib Section

Banners which people have sent in.

Series 2

A series of static banner images, as used at the top of this page.


Linux: Click Here for Free Power

"Free Power 2"

A new "Free Power" banner is available, in the handy 125x125 pixel size for margins and decoration. It has been reworked by Brandt Kurowski to be leaner and a whole lot cleaner. If you prefer, the "Internet's Operating System" frame is also available separately as a static image:

"The Internet's Operating System"

Series 1

The original series of banners that kicked it all off:

"Free Power"

"Multi/the ultimate"

"Free Sex"

"Speed"

"Future"

"Soul"

There is a download section with a tar archive of the images and also source code for a cgi to serve random banner images. It is available at:


More sites with banners for Linux:

John Hacking's banners NEW
Click on the "Funny Banners" link ...
Free Unix Banner Exchange
This is a banner exchange program for the free unix community.
Linux Graphics and Advertising
Banners and desktop backgrounds by Mr. Topf.
The Linux Advertising Campaign
Linux Online's link banners and buttons.
Linux Mall's banners, Exhibition Program, and Referral Program.
Linux Online's banner advertising
Positive Propoganda, promoting banners for free software and the public interest.

Cool Places to link banners to:

Linux Online
Linux Resources at SSC
Check out Linux Life for more cool Linux sites.

Linux Advocacy and Marketing

Many people would like to use Linux professionally but do not have the opportunity to do so simply because key decision makers are unaware of its potential. Some people still regard Linux as an unstable "hacker" operating system, and consider it unsafe or underpowered for commercial use. Other companies have policies in place simply forbidding the use of freely available software. However, many other people (myself included) have found Linux to be a very reliable and useful platform for certain corporate applications. By making Linux more visible and advocating it appropriately we can help to raise its profile in the corporate arena, and promote it as a viable option for commercial and personal use.

The Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO
A realistic and well thought out guide to advocating Linux sensibly and effectively.
The Linux Advocacy Project
Encourages commercial developers to make Linux versions of software, as well as general Linux advocacy.
Linux Business Applications
Commercial uses of Linux and lists of companies using Linux.

Banner Design

Web publishers and marketers have created standards for banner advertising, which it would be advisable to adhere to. Some of these requirements are:

Effective banner design requires simple, "punchy" graphics and catchy phrasing. These of course depend on your own creativity, but here's some hints and tips:

Here are some resources related to banner design. Note that these links are provided for informational purposes only, and links to commercial sites are in no way an endorsement of their service.

Some Advertising Advice for Web Publishers
An article in Editor & Publisher Interactive giving advice on banner design and placement.
Constructing a banner ad that works
Marketing company Web Wide Media offers their advice. Also of interest are their specifications for banner ads.
Using Banner Ads to Promote Your Web Site
Reprinted from Web Marketing Today
Microscope
Weekly reviews of banner ads.

Linux Catchphrases and Slogans

Linux Fortune Cookies
A collection of cookies about Linux and various other subjects.

Linux Logos and Pictures

Greg Roelofs Linux Pictures
A huge collection of Linux logos, buttons and other pictures.
Larry Ewing's Linux 2.0 Penguins
The original penguin images, plus some penguins combined with text.
Andreas Dilgers Linux Logos
More penguins, this time combined with Allen Petlock's text. Nice SMP and Sparc logos too.
Kevin Hughes' Linux Logos
A simple logo and some good lettering.
Linux Weekly News' Penguin Gallery
A collection of hundreds of images involving Tux and other Linux penguins.

Graphics Utilities

The Gimp
The Gimp is an image manipulation and authoring program. It is an excellent utility for creating web banners, with features like the ability to create images with a WWW optimised palette.

There is a great article in the May 1998 Issue of LinuxFocus about Creating Text with The Gimp.

Perhaps the most powerful feature is Script-Fu, which allows the automated creation of (amongst other things) text rendered with amazing effects.

It now also supports the creation of animated GIFs, so an animation can be created directly in the Gimp. Here is some info describing how to do this (part of the Gimp user manual).

GIFMerge
GIFMerge is the program I use to create animated GIFs from individual images. It is very easy to use and well documented.

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Maintained by conrad@vergenet.net. Last modified Thu Aug 3 2000 Developed on Linux.