From 9a88e9ff0385f66e7c565a394908503dc6e916ad Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: neodarz Date: Fri, 28 Apr 2017 00:30:19 +0200 Subject: Site updated at 2017-04-28T00:29:42+02:00 source branch was at: f1965c50670f611ef54f9471490d45a554f7d866 Correct a link --- ...-non-anti-aliased-monaco-is-still-the-best.html | 55 ++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 55 insertions(+) create mode 100644 build/blog/2015-08-31-after-all-these-years-10pt-non-anti-aliased-monaco-is-still-the-best.html (limited to 'build/blog/2015-08-31-after-all-these-years-10pt-non-anti-aliased-monaco-is-still-the-best.html') diff --git a/build/blog/2015-08-31-after-all-these-years-10pt-non-anti-aliased-monaco-is-still-the-best.html b/build/blog/2015-08-31-after-all-these-years-10pt-non-anti-aliased-monaco-is-still-the-best.html new file mode 100644 index 00000000..99766672 --- /dev/null +++ b/build/blog/2015-08-31-after-all-these-years-10pt-non-anti-aliased-monaco-is-still-the-best.html @@ -0,0 +1,55 @@ + + + + + + + +After all these years, 10pt non-anti-aliased Monaco is still the best + + + + + + + + +
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After all these years, 10pt non-anti-aliased Monaco is still the best

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Ars Technica just ran a piece on the open source programming font Hack. Now I don't really know why this is news-worthy (open source programming fonts aren't a new thing), but I thought I'd give it a try.

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The result is unsurprising. I've loved my 10pt non-anti-aliased Monaco for years, beginning with the Pro profile of Terminal.app. In fact, I initially refused to use iTerm2 precisely because I can't reproduce my beloved typeface in it, until I found out the non anti-aliasing trick. This time again, Hack simply can't compete with my favorite font; see the screenshots below. Among other things, it is way too thick for my liking — the same problem that haunts a whole range of programming fonts. Note that Hack is supposed to look good at 8px–12px according to its README, but I tested it at 9pt–12pt in iTerm2 (I know, pt is supposed to be larger than px, but I seriously doubt that anyone would want 8px or 6pt as their daily font size — and for that matter iTerm2 doesn't even allow me to go below 9pt, a pretty reasonable restriction, I'd say).

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By the way, it is worth pointing out that the very same Monaco looks horrible at 9pt or 11pt, anti-aliased or not (same goes for 10pt anti-aliased). 10pt non-anti-aliased Monaco is simply a miracle.

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09/01/2015 update: Looks like I was quite confused about pt and px, and they are to be used interchangeably in the current context. I suggest that anyone interested in this subject also read John Gruber's two very informative pieces from 2003, Anti-Aliasing and Anti-Anti-Aliasing.

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+Pro profile in Apple's Terminal.app, with 10pt non-anti-aliased Monaco. That says something about the font's quality, especially on a dark background. +

Pro profile in Apple's Terminal.app, with 10pt non-anti-aliased Monaco. That says something about the font's quality, especially on a dark background.

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+10pt non-anti-aliased Monaco is life. +

10pt non-anti-aliased Monaco is life.

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+Hack, anti-aliased, at 9pt, 10pt, 11pt and 12pt, respectively. Click to enlarge. +

Hack, anti-aliased, at 9pt, 10pt, 11pt and 12pt, respectively. Click to enlarge.

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