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Comment by olah_1 | Hacker News Reader

I keep hoping to see "font rendering looks better on Windows" in one of these releases. I don't think it'll ever happen though.

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Is there some API or technique that you're wanting implemented? Or is ClearType misconfigured on your machine?

Edit: the Control Panel has a Cleartype wizard that works like an optometrist exam: https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/80598-turn-off-cleartype...

DirectWrite does have some improvements over GDI only ClearType. Although a lot of DirectWrite's real improvements people notice are interestingly in the other direction. (ClearType is designed to optimize sub-pixel rendering on LCDs when rendering fonts at small sizes; a bunch of DirectWrite improvements are in multi-pixel aliasing and smoothing when rendering higher font sizes on higher DPI devices.)

I think he refers to the slightly "biggening" of fonts.

Which is a great thing, btw! because it helps with all that nonsense-designers-bs of suuuuper thin fonts nobody can actually read.

They're not "biggened". They're bolder and more blocky. Which from a design perspective appears louder, more brash, and not calm.

That wizard is amazing, thank you!

And I hope it stays the way it is. I always found Firefox font rendering to be much more readable and easy on the eyes than Chrome's, to a point that most Electron software felt terribly blurry to me until they slightly improved it.

I spend most of my time on the following computers:

* "retina" Macs at 16" and 27"

* Windows laptop at 13"-ish and 3000x2000

* Mac and Windows at 24" and 1920x1200

All of these look fine to me, except for Windows at 1920x1200. I don't know if Firefox is especially bad, but that's my primary browser.

I wish I could better articulate what's wrong with it, but I don't think it's fixable with the ClearType tuner. It may just come down to preference--I use Macs more, so I prefer their font rendering.

> I wish I could better articulate what's wrong with it, but I don't think it's fixable with the ClearType tuner.

This is the frustration. Quite simply, I don't think anyone at Mozilla uses Windows.

I've tried to go to Firefox from Chromium, but the psychological impact that font rendering has on me is too much. I mean, we spend a lot of time reading text in a browser. I want that to be delightful and easy on the eyes.

Chromium-based browsers are actually the odd ones out here.

Maybe they're odd, but they look much better to me. Firefox text feels loud and anxious in comparison.

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