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Fred, I'm using XP on a Dell laptop with 14" screen with 14/10 resolution. Of course I didn't get to try out this resolution before buying laptop, but now I find the fonts on many pages are just too small to see (aging geek syndrome). For browsing I've tried Firefox (changing default font sizes, many different combinations), IE (using custom CSS, ignore fonts) for changing browser response, only marginally satisfactory and varies from site to site. Tried changing to large font in XP, but it's quite glommy (tech term?). Tried changing resolution to 120 dpi (and other resolutions) in settings|advanced|dpi section, again, results are mixed.
Am I missing something here? Is there a way of manipulating font sizes in screen presentation that won't defeat the value of a high rez screen in the first place? ---Rob Handley
Every flat panel screen has a design resolution --- an intended setting --- usually listed in the owner's manual. At that specific resolution, standard fonts "fit" the pixel size and spacing best. But at other resolutions, the font design may call for a stroke width the screen simply cannot display.
For example, a screen can draw the downstroke of the letter "I" one pixel wide, two pixels wide, three pixels wide (etc); and it'll look fine that way. But a pixel is a pixel: There's no smaller display unit available. That means a display can't really draw the downstroke of an "I" at (say) 1.25 pixels wide, or 2.33 pixels wide, even if the font's mathematic design calls for that. For all the non-whole-number, in-between pixel sizes, the video card, driver software and monitor literally have to fake it! The result can be blurry, funky-looking text... and eyestrain headaches, especially because flat panel pixels (more so than CRT pixels) can be quite obvious and distinct--- like standing too close to a pointillist painting.
Your best bet is to start with the hardware: Find the optimum resolution and/or default settings for your screen, and use that as a baseline. What you see at the default settings and resolution probably is the best your screen can do on its own. (We'll get to software assists in a moment.) Look closely at the on-screen text (especially "serif" fonts like Times Roman, with little finishing strokes at the ends of letters) to see how the screen is drawing the characters. This is your touchstone for "as good as the hardware can do on its own."
I think you'll find that your system's native and best resolution is not 1400/1000 (that's not even a standard resolution anyway, to my knowledge): My previous laptop had a 14" screen, and I usually ran it at 1024x768; it was fine at that resolution. My newer laptop has a 15.4" screen, and I run that at 1280x800. My laptop doesn't even offer 14/10 as an option; a 14/10 resolution would be hard to see even on many full-sized desktop monitors, never mind a relatively modest 14" laptop screen. I'm not sure what your setup is, but in any case, a lower resolution will probably give you a much better starting point for legible text.
Once you've found a resolution that's at least approximately OK for your eyes, add in the software tweaks that can improve display quality. Your laptop or monitor may have come with such software; or if you're using XP, try Microsoft's free "Cleartype." (See
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypeInfo.mspx ) Cleartype is basically just a better way of using software to "fake" the curves, slants, and inter-pixel sizes of on-screen text, especially on flat screens, and it can dramatically improve text legibility.
You can enable and disable Cleartype by right-clicking on the desktop, selecting Properties/Appearance/Effects/"Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts" and selecting Cleartype. The Cleartype settings themselves are also adjustable, so you can tweak until you find a combination of resolution and legibility that best suits your needs. Microsoft has a free Cleartype tweaking tool available at
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/...ner/Step1.aspx , and there's also a free third-party tool available at
http://www.ioisland.com/cleartweak/ .
Flat screens have a lot going for them, and some are very, very good. But alas, I've never seen any flat panel that's as clear and easy on the eyes as a high-quality CRT. It may happen some day, but I don't think we're there yet. So, in the meantime, let your hardware work in its "natural" modes, and use software (like Cleartype) to assist in displaying a font's smooth lines, slopes and curves on what is essentially a fixed, rectilinear grid of pixels. "Faking it" is the name of the game! <g>
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Good to hear the problem's been solved. Thanks for posting back.
