Font Rendering Differences Between Apple And Microsoft

DateJune 12th, 2007    CommentsNo Comments

With the launch of Apple’s Safari browser for Windows (in Beta) yesterday, besides all the bug issues, Jeff Atwood at Coding Horror (a blog that I read often via RSS) has pointed out some issues with how Microsoft and Apple render fonts differently.  Microsoft (via ClearType) renders fonts smooth but crisp.  Apple renders fonts smooth but not so crisp.  Some say it’s blurry, but within OSX, it seems to fit well.

Anyway, the reason why these two render the fonts the way they do has already been discussed to death so I won’t go into that.  Ultimately though, it helped me to understand something about myself when it comes to Web Design that I always thought was kind of odd…

For some reason, I’ve always had an easier time doing graphic design on my Mac but writing code has always been easier on a PC.  Even though Photoshop is almost exactly the same on Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s OSX operating systems, I’m more inspired and can knock out graphics quicker on the Mac.  Even though Dreamweaver is pretty much the same on both, I can knock out code quicker on the PC.  I’ve always suspected it was the way the fonts displayed on the different operating systems, but after reading up on why they two render fonts the way they do, now I’m certain that is definitely the reason.

Now that Macs can run Windows as well as OSX, I’m planning to go back to just using Macs, although my G4 won’t do it since it has to be an Intel-based Mac so I have to buy a new one.  This is mostly because I’m just tired of having to reinstall Windows on my computers every couple of years and all the other problems I’ve had with Windows and PC hardware.  I’ve never felt like I needed to reinstall OSX on my Macs ever and I’ve hardly had any hardware issues.

Anyway, does anyone know if Boot Camp or Parallels render screen fonts the Mac way when you’re running Windows or does it keep it the Windows way?  I’m going to have to find that out before I go back to the Macs.  I use Visual Studio 2005 these days but I guess if Boot Camp or Parallels render the fonts in Windows apps the Apple way, then I may have to rethink that plan.


Going Back to Mac

DateDecember 3rd, 2006    CommentsNo Comments

After spending some of my time last weekend and two full nights this past week trying to make Windows XP functional on a friend’s computer, I’ve decided that I’m definitely going back to using Macs. Ok, that’s not the only reason but it was the final straw.

My Windows Problems

In the past year, I’ve had to re-install XP on my brother’s computer twice. Once, his hard-drive died (not XP’s fault) and another time because a virus messed his computer up. I just re-installed XP on a friend’s computer because a virus and spyware made it completely unusable. I had to re-install XP on one of my computers because it had gotten slow, bloated and was crashing too much.

Luckily, I was able to save most of the important data from each computer each time so it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, but it’s more than I’ve ever had to do with any Mac I’ve owned ever! I’ve never had to re-install the OS. Not once. Plus, the only time a Mac ever felt slow and bloated was when it had finally lived past it lifetime.

My Mac History

The first Apple computer I ever used was in elementary school (maybe 5th grade) and it was an Apple IIe, I think. All through the rest of school and even early college, Mac was the only option.

I bought my first Mac in ‘96 or maybe ‘97 and it was a Beige G3 233mhz. Then around ‘02, I was doing more print design (huge files) and Photoshop seemed slow so I talked myself into getting a G4 867mhz. I also wanted OSX. Anyway, I still use my G4 to this day and it works great.

My Move To PC

In 2000, I got a job as an ASP developer and a Windows PC was the only option there, unless you were a graphics person in the marketing department. So, I became a PC user during the day and a Mac user at night. For some odd reason, I’ve always found graphic design easier on a Mac and programming easier on a PC. Eventually, though, with ASP.NET I wanted to be able to program locally so I bought a Desktop PC. Later, as I starting taking classes again, I got a Laptop PC. My PCs have been ok, but I’ve definitely had more problems with them than my Macs.

What About Now?

From now on I’m going to go back to buying Macs. I’ve briefly touched on why but there are many more reasons going into that decision. Of course, I’ll still need to run Windows while programming but with move to Intel, I can do that now on a Mac. That’s actually one of the bigger reasons why I’m going back. Now I just have to resist buying a new computer now because I don’t really need another right now. My G4 and two PCs should still be ok for a while longer. It’s very tempting though!