What’s your type?
Microsoft’s
ClearType and OS X’s
Quartz Extreme type anti-aliasing engines: both are
technologies that render text more legibly than previous operating system solutions and are both easier on the viewer’s
eyes. Very important, considering many of us work behind a CRT or LCD for hours on end. But which one is better? Its
this very question that is at the center of debate between bloggers
Dudley and
Scoble across their respective blogs. Pro-OS X
Dudley posts screenshots supporting his
opinion, while self proclaimed “Microsoft Geek” Scoble counters with the accusation of an inferior monitor or incorrect
setting used for the test shots:
But now I’m home on my Tablet PC there IS NO CONTEST between the screen shots. The XP ones win by a mile. I think we’re onto something here. If you don’t have an LCD monitor, or if your monitor isn’t set to the correct resolution, or if the ClearType hasn’t been tuned properly, you’ll probably think the Mac is better. But, sorry, no cigar here. Not even close.
Its a purely unscientific layman’s debate, but definitely a topic that needs further testing and investigating. But it seems Scoble has inadvertently conceded an important point about how OS X is superior “out of the box” without the need for any “proper tuning”. Comparing Apples to sour oranges?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jonathan Greene said 4:15PM on 6-16-2005
I had read his post earlier today and had not had a chance to post on my own... It's ridiculous to think that you have to configure your system to have nice clean fonts. It should just work, which we know it does and very well in OS X.
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Grant Gorton said 4:15PM on 6-16-2005
It makes much more since to me to have nice looking fonts and type right out of the box....I'm sure you could do a lot of things with the pc if you tuned it right....but will it be stable?....and what if you tune up your mac?
I have a pc....and....I use both....so...yeah...I still like my mac better for everything. It's just ready to do me right.
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ambimb said 3:54PM on 10-12-2005
Just a data point, but Scoble's most certainly a partisan on M$'s side. He kind of gets paid to say M$ is better at stuff.
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Gregory Markle said 4:15PM on 6-16-2005
Hmmm, so the ClearType looks better at home on a fixed resolution LCD that has been "tuned" to favor ClearType...a statement which I'll assume means he's muddied his settings to remove the painfully obvious aliasing issues that ClearText has...a move which would make the Quartz text look pretty fuzzy. On my 21" Nokia workstation monitor or the LCD in my iBook...the ClearType text looks jagged and aliased while the Quartz is smooth. The 21" Nokia hooked up to my Windows box also seems to feel that ClearText looks like ass in comparison to Quartz also...I guess I should stop calibrating my monitor the correct way and do it the MicroScoble way.
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James Mohler said 4:15PM on 6-16-2005
Arial vs. Helvetica: The battle continues.
Seriously though, ClearType is NOT turned on on XP by default and the settings for it are buried really deep in the system. Yes as a matter of fact I do have have an XP computer and at 600 x 800, anti aliasing of small fonts is useless.
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John said 8:31PM on 11-09-2005
I'd like to see a screenshot of this "NO CONTEST between the screen shots" that he claims. Send us a pic so we can judge for ourselves.
=)
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James Mohler said 4:15PM on 6-16-2005
n/t
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James Mohler said 4:15PM on 6-16-2005
A few thoughts:
1. Windows XP has the open type setting is a stupid spot. I doubt many people even turn it on
2. OS X has displays AND appearance in Control Panel. Both have different tweak settings.
3. Windows makes the fonts look thinner. Perhaps because people were used to single pixel wide fonts before
4. Windows can kern to aggresively.
5. Don't forget that TrueType is an Apple technology even if it is on Windows
6. The most impess application of anti aliasing that I have ever seen anywhere is the zooming of icons on the Apple dock.
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Mike Harper said 4:15PM on 6-16-2005
The entire idea of comparing screenshots is kind of ridiculous. Part of the point of both technologies is that slightly different techniques are used based on whether you're viewing on a CRT or LCD. The only fair comparison would be to run both operating systems while using the same monitor and "optimal" settings, and even then the screenshots would only be a true comparison if you used the same monitor to view them.
While OS X has settings that tune for specific monitor types, there's a web page for Windows XP that allows you to pick from a selection of differently "tuned" text samples. On LCD monitors, both look pretty good after making the right choice.
If I remember correctly, there was still a lot of debate when Windows XP was released whether ClearType should be on by default, and whether it should ever be used on a CRT. My guess is that the setting will be pushed to the forefront, and future versions of the "Welcome to Windows" program that runs on new systems will include a step to select the text rendering that's optimal for your configuration. With a tablet pc or laptop the manufacturer should be able to make this decision and change the defaults accordingly. Ideally, this should probably be in the monitor profile.
I fairly regularly use both and they're both acceptable to my eyes. While tweaking the setting in Windows XP isn't straightforward, it's not by any means arcane. Changing the setting isn't going to affect stability.
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