Posts Tagged ‘font’

Font smoothing is a technology which is used by most web browsers (including Apple Safari for Windows and Mac) to enhance the legibility of the text appearing inside the web page. Font smoothing actually makes the fonts look crisper and smoother on the screen. It basically removes any crippling effects or discontinuous/broken text. Blurriness is also removed via font smoothing. Most of the Web browsers automatically handle the font smoothing, but Apple Safari takes it one step ahead by allowing its users to customise the font smoothing settings according to their needs and preferences.

Depending on your monitor type, you can select among four font smoothing options, standard, light, medium and strong. By default the Safari sets the font smoothing to standard if you are using a CRT monitor. If you have a flat panel monitor then Safari chooses medium font smoothing settings. However, if you still find it too difficult to read the text then you can choose strong font smoothing. Just go to the Edit menu and select preferences. In the pop-up window select the Appearance tab and there you can find the font smoothing options.

Since Apple launched the Safari web browser for Windows it has earned loads of fans, but there are many Internet users who still don’t like it for various reasons. Now the latest buzz that is spreading online is regarding the font rendering technology which this browser uses. The main reason why the buzz took place is the difference between the font rendering technology of Safari and technology of other browsers including Firefox, Internet Explorer etc.

Apple Safari displays the font on the screen in the same way it appears on the paper. So one can easily make out how a particular print out will look. This however makes the fonts appear a little blurred which the Window users are not able to accept. As Microsoft Windows Home Premium uses a whole different font rendering technology, the users of this OS are used to see the fonts using Clear type technology which makes the fonts much sharper on the screen as compared to what actually appears on the paper. So they find it very difficult to read the fonts generated by Safari’s font engine.

Both the font rendering technologies have their own virtues and vices. I personally don’t find any problems in reading Safari fonts. In fact it’s good to see the fonts that way because it’s the true picture, and the blurriness is not too high. However some Windows addicts still justify the Clear type technology and wants Safari to support that.