To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
>> So in summary, bad fonts are one problem the Linux alternatives don't have.
Even when you crank it up to do that though, it has a MAJOR problem with Kerning. Sure, each character is well formed, but if the spacing between characters is all over the place it kinda defeats the point.
Good example is to open up an editor and type the word "spacing" or "difficult", then go to the beginning of the line and start adding spaces...
and watch the character kerning jump all over creation.
I don't know what a "diffic ult" or "spacin g" is, apart from BAD kerning.
And to my eyes Cleartype looks superior to freetype with subpixel aliasing... ASSUMING you use the cleartype tuner.
Even when you crank it up to do that though, it has a MAJOR problem with Kerning. Sure, each character is well formed, but if the spacing between characters is all over the place it kinda defeats the point.
Good example is to open up an editor and type the word "spacing" or "difficult", then go to the beginning of the line and start adding spaces...
Not on my system it doesn't. Works perfectly. In fact, I've not seem that happen on any modern Linux system.
And to my eyes Cleartype looks superior to freetype with subpixel aliasing... ASSUMING you use the cleartype tuner.
And I find the exact opposite to be true. ClearType produces fonts that are blurry, ill-defined, and have horrible colour bleeding. Freetype (assuming you have it configured properly) produces far more legible text on my system.
Could be a difference in the screen. I've seen laptops where Cleartype simply looks blurry, but I've seen others where it looks worse than it does on a CRT (and no, it wasn't configured incorrectly - it simply could not be made to work acceptably).




Member since:
2005-07-20
Especially with the 'alternatives' coming up way short in most arenas I consider important. Font Rendering (Cleartype kicks EVERYTHING else's ass, ESPECIALLY freetype)
I use Gentoo Linux and Gnome on LCDs with subpixel antialiasing and the Bitstream Vera fonts. The fonts look wonderful. When I went to use Windows XP for playing Half-Life 2, I was amazed at how bad the Windows Cleartype fonts looked in comparison. I was also amazed at how badly Windows handles a 150 DPI screen (1920x1200 laptop), while Gnome applications scale without a problem.
So in summary, bad fonts are one problem the Linux alternatives don't have.