OS-Tan

The **OS-tan** is an Internet phenomenon or meme that originated within the Japanese Futaba Channel. The OS-tan are the moe anthropomorphism/personification of several operating systems by various amateur Japanese artists. The OS-tan are typically depicted as women, with the OS-tan representative of Microsoft Windows operating systems usually depicted as sisters of varying ages.

Though initially appearing only in fan work, the OS-tans proved popular enough that Microsoft branches in Singapore and Taiwan used the OS-tan concept as the basis for ad campaigns for Internet Explorer and Microsoft Silverlight, respectively.

## History

The concept of the OS-tan is reported to have begun as a personification of the common perception of Windows Me as unstable and prone to frequent crashes. Discussions on Futaba Channel likened this to the stereotype of a fickle, troublesome girl and as this personification expanded Me-tan was created and followed by the other characters.[*citation needed*] One of the early works to predominantly feature the OS-tan was an interactive Flash animation showing a possible intro to an imaginary anime show known as *Trouble Windows*.[1] A fansub of this was eventually created and is partly responsible for the spread of the OS-tan to English language imageboards.[*citation needed*]

The OS-tan are not an original concept and are predated by Toy's iMac
 Girl, who was featured on a series of desktops released between August
1998 and March 1999.

## Commercial products

Ohzora Publishing produced one book based on OS-tan characters, titled *Trouble Windows OS-tan FanBook* (とらぶる・うぃんどうず OSたんファンブック?).[2] It includes illustrations by over 25 contributors.[3] It also includes 95-tan, ME-tan, XP-tan figures, titled OS Girl 95, OS Girl me, OS Girl XP respectively,[4] but include a molded space for 2k-tan (named OS Girl 2K).[5]

ME-tan, 2K-tan, XP-tan were designed by GUHICO of Stranger Workshop,[6][7] while 95-tan was designed by Fujisaki Shiro from H.B.Company.[8]

Parthenon Production Limited,company had commercialized Pink Company's OS-tan products.[9]

MALINO from Deja Vu ArtWorks produced the Me Document and Shared Folder! trilogy, which were sold in digital format.[10]

Japanese version of Windows 7 Ultimate DSP Edition includes the
unofficial Nanami Madobe mascot. This inspired Microsoft Taiwan to
launch an official mascot for Microsoft Silverlight, Hikaru. This was
followed up by giving Hikaru 'sisters', Lei, Aoi, and Yu.

A Japanese version of Windows 7 Ultimate DSP edition x TOUCH MOUSE
limited pack includes Windows 7 Ultimate DSP edition, Microsoft TOUCH
MOUSE Limited Edition (Touch Mouse Limited Edition Artist Series),[11][12] Microsoft TOUCH MOUSE tutorial animation with Madobe Nanami, Madobe Nanami Windows 7 theme (3 desktop backgrounds, sound).

In 2009, an Ubuntu-based comic titled *Ubunchu!* was serialized in *Kantan Ubuntu!* spinoff from Weekly ASCII magazine.[13]
 It was authored by Hiroshi Seo, with English version translated by
Fumihito Yoshida, Hajime Mizuno, Martin Owens, Arturo Silva, and Anton
Ekblad.[14]

## *Tan* suffix

The Japanese suffix *Tan* (たん?) is a mispronunciation of *Chan* (ちゃん?), an informal, intimate, and diminutive honorific suffix for a person used for friends, family, and pets.[15]
 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 and is also sometimes added to the names of
non-mascot characters. The personifications as a whole are commonly
simply called mascots or mascot characters and as such the *Tan* suffix itself means nothing outside its role as an honorific and its implications of cuteness. Normal suffixes including *San*, *Chan*, and *Kun* are also used with OS-tan depending on the character and the speaker's preference or omitted entirely.

## Examples

### Windows 10

The name of Windows 10 mascot is officially introduced as Touko Madobe on 31 July 2015.[16]
 The Internet Explorer mascot confirmed Tōko's name on its official
Facebook page. Her name is a homonym for one of the readings for "ten"
in Japanese, "too/とお".[17]
 Her name is named by fans through an online poll. According to her
profile, her origins are the Madobe family and she’s set 100 years in
the future. She likes online gaming and supporting others. Her personal
traits are being an excellent student, and expanding her knowledge on
technology. Her manager often worries since she’s a bit spontaneous. She
 also enjoys cheering on people who are working hard and doing their
best. She has a part-time job at the Akibano Custom Computer Company
where she is a rookie.

### Windows 8.1

The Japanese Windows 8.1
 Pro DSP edition Madobe Family version by Windows Navi+ (Techno-Alliance
 Corp.) is a limited (1000 units) version of Windows 8.1 Pro 32/64-bit
edition with 3 types of Madobe family picture password wallpapers,
Madobe character voices (Nanami, Yū, Ai, Claudia), Madobe family
complete edition Windows theme pack, previously unpublished Madobe
family designs, Final Pasocom Data Hikkoshi 9+ licence key, Skype
 3-month free trial, historical Windows logo stickers (XP, Vista, 7, 8).
 Other editions include a Memorial Pack version without voice, theme
pack, stickers (6191 units); a 64-bit Windows Memorial Pack version with
 a Sculpt Mobile Mouse with Nanami decor (810 units). These editions
were available for preorder on 2013-10-04 with release date on
2013-10-18.[18][19][20]
 As part of the market launch, a Facebook draw of 8 followers took place
 when follower count reaches 80001; and total Twitter follower count for
 Yū and Ai reach 8001, where winners receive Madobe Yū and Ai-themed
prizes.[21]

Additional types of Windows 8.1 Pro DSP edition Madobe family theme
packs were also sold by ark (TowerHill corp), ZOA Corporation, TSUKUMO
(Project White Co., Ltd.), Dospara Co., Ltd., BUY MORE (UNIT.COM INC.),
Big Camera/Sofmap, PC One's. These versions include 2 types of
wallpapers (Christmas, New Year), theme pack with system voices.[22]

### Windows 8

The Japanese Windows 8
 Pro DSP editions were released in Madobe Yū (窓辺ゆう) and Madobe Ai (窓辺あい)
 editions by Windows Navi+ (Techno-Alliance Corp.). Both versions (4000
units per character, 8000 total) include a Microsoft Wedge touch Mouse
with the Windows 8 logo, character-specific Windows theme (3 theme pack
wallpapers, event sounds in the respective character's voice), picture
password images.[23]
 In addition, Limited Akihabara Editions (444 units per character, 888
total), sold in Tokyo's Akihabara shopping district, include Madobe
Ai/Yū edition of Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse, an alternate
character-specific event sound samples and theme pack and an alternate
wallpaper for its respective character.[24] Nipponbashi
 versions (500 units per character), sold in Nipponbashi in Osaka,
include Microsoft Wedge Touch Mouse (with Madobe Ai and Yū decal), 3
theme pack wall papers (2 common + 1 character specific), Yu or Ai event
 sounds. The Nipponbashi packages include different illustration.[25][26][27][28] The 32/64-bit version availability depends on retailer.

Asuka Nishi voices the short-haired Yū, while Nao Tamura voices the long-haired Ai.[29][30]

The Windows 8 Can edition from Unitcom (available for the first 2888
copies) included notepad, T-shirt, 2-way mouse pad, pocket media case,
smart phone stand cleaning, 2-way PC cleaner, Madobe Yū (窓辺ゆう) and
Madobe Ai badges, freeze blanket.[31]

The extended Madobe family tree revealed Yuu (older sister) and Ai
(younger sister)'s parents are Eiichi (映一(えいいち)) from Netsu (根津) family
and Shii (椎(しい)) from Madobe family.[32] Yū and Ai were born on 1996-11-18 (Windows CE's release date) with age 15, with height of 152 cm.[33]

MasatakaP and Electrocutica produced a Windows 8 music video titled
Through the Window, featuring Madobe Nanami, Claudia Madobe, and
silhouette of Madobe Yū. The video was unveiled as the opening to
Microsoft's keynote on the second day (April 25) of Windows Developer
Days in Japan.

As of 2012-10-25 and 2013-01-16, Windows Navi+ (Techno-Alliance
Corp.) also created separate Twitter accounts for Madobe Ai and Madobe
Yū respectively.[34][35][36]

Two theme songs for Madobe Yū and Madobe Ai (Mir8cle Days(ミラクルデイズ),
Donna mirai demo(どんな未来でも)) were unveiled on 2013-06-15 and sold as a CD
bundled with Windows 8 Pro DSP edition sold at TwinBox AKIHABARA.[37][38][39]

### Windows 7

Akiba PC reported that the first 7777 copies of Japanese Windows 7 Ultimate DSP editions[40] include special wallpaper and sound sets for a character called Nanami Madobe (窓辺ななみ *Madobe Nanami*?), voiced by Nana Mizuki. The character was designed by Wakaba.[41]
 The premium set includes a Windows 7 theme featuring 3 Nanami
wallpapers, 19 event sound sets, CD with 5 extra Nanami sounds. Regular
DSP edition includes a digest Windows 7 theme including a Nanami
wallpaper, an event sound set; the preorder users can also download an
extra Nanami wallpaper and 6 event sound sets. This makes it the first
OS-tan marketed by the company producing the operating system. In
addition, the character also got its own Twitter account.[42]

During the initial sales event of the Windows 7 DSP edition, the official profile of the character has also been revealed.[43]
 It shows Madobe Nanami was born in 1992-04-06 (release date of Windows
3.1) 17 years of age(at the time of release), who lives in Chiyoda, Tokyo.
 Nanami is among an extended family of 16 members, and she has elder
brother named Goichi (吾一), elder sister named Mutsumi (むつみ), mother
named Mikaho (美佳穗) from Madobe (窓辺) family, father named Kyuuachi (究八)
from Shirato (白戸) family. Nanami and her cousin Claudia Madobe
(クロード(蔵人)) later appeared in Microsoft's Cloud Girl comic strip.[44]

### Windows Vista

Windows Vista's most distinguishing characteristic is usually her
horn-shaped pigtails (some variants have up to four pigtails) and heterochromatic eyes.
 Silver or white hair appears to be the most frequent, although light
blue and black are also seen. A common costume design was a white and
red sailor fuku and stockings. Since the release of more details about Vista's
 interface, her look has changed slightly. A black maid's outfit is now
emerging in popularity (which matches the new default Vista color
scheme), as well as a circular Windows logo hair clip, identical to the
new Start Menu button in Vista. There also seems to be a more finalized
version who has a hair colour similar to that of Vista wallpapers, with a
 range from light blue, to yellow, to green. She also wears a type of
long coat (which only covers her left and right sides) which are
transparent to imitate that of the Aero glass effect.

### Windows XP

XP-tan is a dark-haired girl with ribbons in her hair and an "XP" hair ornament typically worn on the left side. As Windows XP
 is criticized for bloating a system and being very pretty without being
 as useful, XP-tan is commonly depicted wearing tight clothing with big
breasts. Additionally, as a reference to the memory usage of Windows XP,
 she is often seen eating or holding an empty rice bowl labeled "Memory". Some variants include a version for XP Home
 known as "Homeko" who has green hair which she wears in a short
ponytail with two large XP-shaped hairclips that cover her ears, as well
 as a less common variation representing Windows XP Media Center Edition. The outfits worn by the two main variants are based on the loading lines at the Windows splash screen during startup.

### Windows 2000

Although a few variants exist, the most common operating system represented is Windows 2000 Professional. She is typically drawn as an intelligent, professional, reserved looking woman with short blue hair, glasses,
 and hair clips that resemble cat ears flanking a small white bonnet or
ruffle, similar to a maid's bonnet, that shows the Windows logo. Her
outfit resembles a swimsuit suggesting the Windows logo colors worn with
 long blue coat, alluding to the popular opinion that Windows 2000
 is the most stable and dependable of the Windows operating systems. Due
 to the greater stability of Win2K compared with WinME, which was
released near 2000, 2K-tan is often described as the guardian of ME-tan.
 The particular shade of blue used in most drawings is similar to the
default Windows 2000 desktop color.

### Windows ME

The design of ME-tan, the personification of Windows Me, is very much in line with the Japanese concept of kawaii
 or cuteness. Her design has changed little from the artist's original
designs and is depicted with green hair in long pigtails wearing a maid
outfit with a "!"
 badge on the front reminiscent of the Windows Me Active Desktop
Recovery screen, often shown after rebooting from a system crash in Me.
While she is considered to be a hard worker, webcomics often depict her
failing at anything she tries to do, often literally crashing and
irritating her sisters. When she is not frozen or out of control, she
tends to do things showing a lack of common sense or knowledge, such as
putting a soda can into a microwave oven or defending herself by
swinging a Welsh onion.

### Windows 98 and 98SE

While many variations exist the most common depiction of the Windows 98
 operating systems is a pair of young girls. The OS-tan representative
of the original release of Windows 98 is shown in a white and blue
uniform that includes the Windows logo as part of a neck tie, navy blue
hair, and a "98" hair clip. The Windows 98 Second Edition
 OS-tan is similar in appearance, but wears a green sailor school
uniform with the letters "SE" on the front. Two early representations
that are also seen are a pair of stick-limbed Pocky boxes with a face and version number drawn in crayon. This is a reference to Vulcan 300, a character from the Zatch Bell! anime series. These early representations are still used as a mecha piloted by the girls, dolls carried by the girls, or sometimes even as hiding places for them.

### Windows 95

As Windows 95 is considered[*by whom?*]
 to be the oldest of the modern 32-bit Windows operating systems, it is
usually represented as a traditional lady from the early modern era of
Japan. She is typically depicted as a gentle-looking brown haired woman in a kimono, with a hair ribbon showing the four Windows colors. Her outfit is a traditional kimono and a hakama of Japan and she wears thick sandals, or geta,
 on her feet. These were a woman college student's typical clothes as
seen in the earliest period during the course of the modernization in
Japan (from the Meiji period to the Taishō period)
 and is a reference to the modernization of Windows in comparison to the
 modernization of Japan. Additionally, the pattern of her kimono is
based on the file "hana256.bmp", which was used as a desktop wallpaper
pattern in the Japanese version of Windows. She is typically depicted as
 engaged in drinking tea, serving meals or doing other housework.[*citation needed*] One recurring theme in stories is her unfamiliarity with newer, post Win-95 technologies, such as USB devices (even though the OSR 2.x supported it) and broadband internet connections. She is also occasionally depicted wielding a katana
 in an aggressive manner, symbolizing that it was with her generation of
 operating systems that Microsoft finally achieved full dominance of the
 personal computer market.

### Windows 3.1

Windows 3.1
 is a short girl with long silver hair, a long light purple dress, and a
 large purple bow on her head. She is often seen carrying a small, black
 cat on her head as well. She acts as a servant, or a maid
 of some sort, who serves and tends to DOS-tan. This is a reference to
the belief that Windows 3.1 is not a full operating system, but rather
just a GUI for MS-DOS.

### Mac OS X

The Mac OS X girl is often portrayed as a catgirl, following with the Apple "wild cat" naming tradition. (Every Mac OS X release until OS X Mavericks
 has a codename like "Jaguar", "Panther", "Tiger", "Leopard", "Snow
Leopard" and so on.) Otherwise, she is shown as an older variation of
the Mac OS 9 girl, wearing a platinum white coat and a wireless AirPort device fashioned as a hat. She is occasionally shown holding a publication of some sort, as Macs are often used for desktop publishing.

### Linux

Linux-tan

Originally seen as a bearded penguin (a reference to Tux, the penguin mascot of the Linux kernel), the more friendly image of a girl with helmet and flippers was chosen as a human alternative.[*citation needed*]
 Her helmet (most likely a remark on the linux kernel's oft-claimed
excellent security) usually has horns on it, likely a reference to the GNU
 software which comprises the common system programs present in nearly
all Linux distributions. The "gear teeth" on the helmet are a reference
to KDE, a common desktop environment used with GNU/Linux. The foot symbol on her shirt is a reference to GNOME, another common desktop environment. She is often seen with a spear that has flags attached representing the GRUB, LILO and GCC tools for Linux.

### MSX-DOS

The MSX-DOS girl is often portrayed as a young grey-haired girl carrying a large cartridge-shaped bag with an MSX-DOS logo on it.[45]
 There is even a short game portrayed this os-tan as the hero. The
reason why the bag she is holding is cartridge-shaped is probably
because MSXDOS2 required an cartridge with an extra 64kb of ROM in order
 to work.

### American-Tan

The Americanized versions, called XP-USA, Me-USA, 2K-USA, were
published in the Ohzora's FanBook as "TROUBLE���WINDOWS in USA", by
Saint Muscle.[46]

### Supporting characters

Opera-tan, the personification of Opera

Because of heavy associations between operating systems and their supporting programs, such as anti-virus clients and web browsers, many supporting characters are created to personify the idiosyncrasies of these applications. Among popular examples are:

* Amazon Kindle: Kindle-kun
* Chromium: Chrome-Tan
* DOS: DOS-tan
* Internet Explorer: Inori Aizawa (IE-tan)[47]
* McAfee: Miss McAfee
* Mozilla Firefox: Firefox-tan
* Norton Utilities: Dr. Norton
* Opera: Opera-tan
* Silverlight/Microsoft Azure: Hikaru Aizawa

## Recognition

Wired News rated OS-Tan as one of the "Lamest Technology Mascots Ever" with the verdict of "strangely compelling".[48]