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You are not logged in. [Log In] AppleCentral » Forums » Publications, Articles and Industry Discussion » Apple World » FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING
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#230705 - 05/24/05 04:34 AM FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING
330zhp Offline
stranger

Registered: 05/24/05
Posts: 7
As a long time Mac user (but not a zealot) and a Windows user who just got in 3 new computers (2 Windows Laptops and new mac G5 dual 2 GHz) I have to say that the Microsoft Clear Type is far superior than the Macs on screen font smoothing. For as good as Macs are to look at, they are really "fuzzy" on screen. And I have all the latest hardware- including DVI connection and 2 new Mac 20" widescreen displays. When these are hooked to my Windows (Sony) laptops with XP Clear type on- they look magnificent. But when paired with Apple, the text looks "fuzzy" with a lot of reddish pixels around each letter. Apple needs to "tighten up" the onscreen look of each typed letter- or Mac users will continure to see the world a little fuzzy. Macs need to be as cool to use as they are too look at and having such crappy font smoothing makes them look bad. <br><br>PS Yes I have twekaed with it in Sys Pref and yes I have used Macs for years. I kind of hoped that Tiger had fixed this or "updated" the font smooting utility.<br><br>

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#230706 - 05/24/05 04:41 AM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: 330zhp]
Bryan Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/24/04
Posts: 8099
It's a feature, not a bug. <br><br>OS X and Macs look slightly fuzzy....until you get used to it. Windows has a much more jagged appearance with stark lines and edges. <br><br>I use both everyday....I know what you're talking about, but I prefer the Mac way. It's much easier on the eyes. <br><br>

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#230707 - 05/24/05 04:43 AM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: 330zhp]
JonnyCat Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/21/02
Posts: 4452
Loc: New Hampshire
???<br><br>I see no fuzziness and redish pixels here. (yeah I've got the latest windows and macs and yada yada yada)<br><br>and I have tweaked nothing.<br><br>

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#230708 - 05/24/05 04:49 AM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: Bryan]
330zhp Offline
stranger

Registered: 05/24/05
Posts: 7
I know its a feature and it is one that I like- it is just plain to me that MS Clear Type makes the font bolder for flat panels without as many pixels "shading" each letter- and it looks crisper- Mac "Font Smoothing- (Apple did it first of course) has more pixels for shading giving each letter a more ragged look to my (getting older) eyes<br><br>

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#230709 - 05/24/05 07:28 AM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: 330zhp]
MacGizmo Offline

What?

Registered: 04/03/02
Posts: 19198
Loc: Arizona
I have a dual 2ghz G5 with a 20" LCD at 1600x1200 resolution and I don't see any blurriness or odd colored pixels around letters.&#10;&#10;Try setting the Font anti-aliasing to CRT instead of LCD... that is a known fix, and why the LCD setting looks poopie I have no idea.<br><br><br><br>CreativeGuy: For your "fix" of design software tips, tricks & commentary.
_________________________
The Graphic Mac - Tips, reviews & more on all things OSX & graphic design.

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#230710 - 05/24/05 08:08 AM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: MacGizmo]
Bryan Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 06/24/04
Posts: 8099
I remember this complaint when OS X first came out...the Quartz graphics looked blurry compared to the old Quickdraw crap in OS 9. But I got used to it, and now prefer the softer edges. <br><br>At least I think that's what he's talking about. <br><br>

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#230711 - 05/24/05 02:23 PM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: 330zhp]
Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 04/20/02
Posts: 4390
If I turn on Clear Type here on my XP machine at work, it hurts my eyes after a few minutes. It's just horrible. Apple's text is like looking at a printed page, whereas Clear Type is just blurry screen text.<br><br>
_________________________

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#230712 - 05/24/05 04:48 PM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: ]
ezyrider Offline
old hand

Registered: 10/10/02
Posts: 1156
Loc: Dallas, Texas
Same thing here it hurts my eyes. In fact that is one of my main complaints about Windows, the text has always looked like crap. Clear Type is even worse. I was hoping once XP was released and Clear Type was turned on text would look more Mac-like but once again MS blew it. They can copy it but they can't make it work the same.<br><br>
_________________________

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#230713 - 05/28/05 10:10 AM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: 330zhp]
iraszl Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 07/21/02
Posts: 6182
Loc: Bahrain
See the example below. I think the OS X version is much closer to print quality than Windows. It's much easier to read as well. The block of text is just so muh more inviting. I think the Windows version is completely screwed up. Sorry, I don't see the benefits of ClearType at all.<br><br>http://creativebits.org/files/forum/osx_winxp_font_comparison.png<br><br>
_________________________
Check out my sites on ads and design.

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#230714 - 05/29/05 09:54 PM Re: FONT SMOOTHING NEEDS IMPROVING [Re: 330zhp]
hayesk Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/25/02
Posts: 3639
Loc: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Sorry, I don't see it here on my PowerBook. The text looks perfectly smooth.<br><br><br>

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