OS X fonts compared to Windows?

D

dirtydog

Guest
Can someone tell me if I'm doing something wrong, as it seems to me that OS X fonts aren't as clear or easy to read as Windows ones.

Using 10.3.7, with font rendering set to its default setting of CRT.. (I'm using a CRT monitor).

Mac fonts at the top.. Mac in Safari, Windows in Firefox.
macfonts3.png


Two other pics.. 1 2

Windows is using ClearType. Would you agree the Mac fonts aren't as clear, and if so what can I do about it other than just increase the size?

By the way, the three sites shown are..

forums.overclockers.co.uk
news.bbc.co.uk
www.timesonline.co.uk
 
Joined
Oct 30, 2004
Messages
4,374
Reaction score
55
Points
48
Location
San Antonio, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac G4 Cube 450mhz 832mb
screen resolution also makes a difference, also, the default fonts on each platform and browser are different, even if theyre the same font, theyll look different.
 
OP
D

dirtydog

Guest
The resolution is the same on both platforms: 1024x768 - I realise OS X is using Helvetica and Windows is using Verdana though. Mind you it's a moot point because OS X doesn't come with Verdana.

So is that how it's meant to look?
 
Joined
Oct 30, 2004
Messages
4,374
Reaction score
55
Points
48
Location
San Antonio, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac G4 Cube 450mhz 832mb
hmm, Im not sure, fonts have always been very clean and sharp on my mac.
 
OP
D

dirtydog

Guest
Perhaps you or another Mac user could visit those sites and see if they look the same as my screenshots? I edited above to include the URLs.
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
4,744
Reaction score
381
Points
83
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
You said that you were using ClearType on Windows...are you using an LCD monitor with Windows?

The technical term for Microsoft(R) ClearType(TM) is "sub-pixel rendering." It only really works on an LCD, and it takes advantage of the way color pixels are made up of red, green, and blue components.

OS X uses sub-pixel rendering on LCDs, and anti-aliasing on CRTs, depending on the font smoothing settings. If you're comparing an anti-aliased CRT to a sub-pixel-rendered LCD, the CRT will lose every time. If you try to use sub-pixel rendering on a CRT, you may or may not like the results.

The attachment is what I see in Safari, using "Medium-LCD."

shot.png
 
OP
D

dirtydog

Guest
I'm using a CRT monitor for both. Font smoothing settings in OS X are set to CRT.

Cleartype in Windows looks perfectly good on a CRT to my eyes - it's a good sharp CRT monitor.

The screenshot of yours is much clearer than mine; can I ask if that font is Helvetica, or have you got Verdana installed on your system? Also is that the regular size in Safari or have you increased it? (ie. in Safari preferences, said not to use fonts below a certain size).

I will try Medium-LCD and see if it looks any better. Your screenshot is a lot clearer obviously.
 
OP
D

dirtydog

Guest
Here's how it looks with Medium TFT settings.. slightly different to your shot but closer than my previous one. It's hard to say whether it's better - it's very bright and bold on a CRT screen.

mediumTFT.png
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2003
Messages
1,301
Reaction score
62
Points
48
Location
The home of the free and the land that did for Bra
Your Mac's Specs
24"iMac, 15"MB-Pro, MacBook, G4 iMac, PM G5 2x2Ghz, G4 iBook & Some PCs
dirtydog said:
Perhaps you or another Mac user could visit those sites and see if they look the same as my screenshots? I edited above to include the URLs.

I've got the overclockers site on my iMac (17" WS Flat Panel) @ 1024x768 (wow that mode brings back memories ;)) sat right next to a PC (19" CRT) at the same mode. Safari on the iMac, Firefox on the PC. They look identical to me.

At higher resolutions (i.e 1440x900 on the iMac and the PC at 1200x1024 which is where they usually run) the CRT does look crisper but I would expect that it would anyhow as the contrast is better and the refresh rate higher1.

(Just for fuller info the PC is running an ATI 9200 128Mb AGP card and XP-Pro SP2, the iMac has 10.2.8 Jaguar with Nvidia GeForce 4MX)

Amen-Moses
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2004
Messages
4,744
Reaction score
381
Points
83
Location
USA
Your Mac's Specs
12" Apple PowerBook G4 (1.5GHz)
I've got it set to use sizes of 9 or higher. I think that's the default. Don't know what font it is.

dirtydog said:
Here's how it looks with Medium TFT settings.. slightly different to your shot but closer than my previous one. It's hard to say whether it's better - it's very bright and bold on a CRT screen.

On my PowerBook's LCD, that screenshot, to my eyes, is the sharpest of all. Sharper than your PC or my Safari shot. Don't know what that means.
 
Joined
Jan 13, 2005
Messages
350
Reaction score
3
Points
18
Location
Albany, NY
I know exactly what your talknig about dirtydog...the default font settings suck in OS X. You have to go in an manually change them. Webpages look like **** if your coming from a Windows system. I haven't found it to be a problem with my monitor settings, but just the fonts they use. You can manually go into your browser and set them to something different. I think I changed all my fonts to Arial, and now it is much easier to read.
 
OP
D

dirtydog

Guest
Yeah I think the best solution may be to copy the Windows fonts onto OS X, particularly Verdana as it's widely used on the web. I don't think Apple's Helvetica is as easy to read.

This forum uses Verdana as its first choice font when it's available btw.

edit.. I installed Verdana in OS X and also told Safari not to use fonts under size 11.. much better now I think..

verdana.png
 
Joined
Oct 30, 2004
Messages
4,374
Reaction score
55
Points
48
Location
San Antonio, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
PowerMac G4 Cube 450mhz 832mb
hmm, they were with mine.
 
Joined
Apr 25, 2003
Messages
1,301
Reaction score
62
Points
48
Location
The home of the free and the land that did for Bra
Your Mac's Specs
24"iMac, 15"MB-Pro, MacBook, G4 iMac, PM G5 2x2Ghz, G4 iBook & Some PCs
Well that explains why they are identical in Jaguar then.

My Mini arrived today and it has those fonts installed by default so it's probably an install issue I can't recall being asked if I wanted to include IE or not when I installed 10.3 on my PowerMac but I'm pretty sure th efonts are on their as well, I'll check later.

Amen-Moses
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top