Windows typography reproduction

[volvoguy]

On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 23:00:39 +0100, Horst Schlonz <horst.schlonz at gmx.de> wrote:

> ok, this is what i mean: http://free.pages.at/headroom/Screenshots.png
> upper left: ubuntu  with ugly non-antialiased tahoma
> lower left: windows with acceptable non-antialiased tahoma
> upper right: ubuntu  with ugly antialiased tahoma
> lower right: windows with acceptable antialiased tahoma

Cool. That helps.... kind of. At the resolution I'm using, all four
examples are unreadable. I had to open it in the Gimp to see anything.
It looks to ME like the problem isn't antialiasing, it's kerning - and
how Linux renders fonts overall - but it's not antialiasing. If you
compare the non-antialiased samples, the letters in the Linux version
are only slightly different than Windows, but the kerning (space
between letters) is totally screwed in Linux.

http://aaron.volvoguy.net/kerning.gif

Why? Linux and Windows are two different beasts, Tahoma is a MS
designed (or comissioned) font, and maybe there aren't many developers
pulling fonts from other OS's to do their testing on? Obviously I
don't know why. Maybe someone like Jeff W. can fill in here.

Under these circumstances I can't even suggest how to "fix" it. To me
it doesn't look like something that can be fixed by an end-user at
this point. My only suggestion would be to use a different font and
experiment with the two settings in /etc/fonts/local.conf. The small
size you're using may be necessary, but if not you could try bumping
the sizes up a point or two, in combination with the other tweaks, to
see if you can get close to what you want.

> sorry, but this is (imho) mental masturbation. seriously WORKING people
> want the lower left thing. and so am i.

Honestly, you can't really make that statement. Your lower left
example (the default in WinXP) is the first thing I change when I
install Windows. I'm also a relatively well liked graphic designer,
web designer and amateur fontographer, which makes me a "working"
person that is reasonably confident that he knows what he's talking
about.

I'm not trying to have a debate with you - I was trying to help you.
If that doesn't hold any value for you and it's just "mental
masturbation", I can find something better to do. I'm not trying to be
rude, but that comment kinda felt like a slap in the face.


-- 
Aaron

Ubuntu SVG Artwork - www.volvoguy.net/ubuntu
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Art, like morality, consists of drawing the line somewhere. ~ G.K. Chesterton