Shulou(Shulou.com)06/01 Report--

Today, I would like to talk to you about the differences between Microsoft and Apple's font smoothing and anti-aliasing and sub-pixel rendering technologies. Many people may not know much about it. In order to make you understand better, the editor summarized the following. I hope you can get something from this article.

Apple and Microsoft always have different views on how to display fonts on computer screens. Currently, both companies use sub-pixel rendering (subpixel rendering) technology to make fonts appear clear on low-resolution screens. The fundamental difference between the two companies lies in the guiding ideology.

* Apple generally believes that the primary goal of the font algorithm is to maintain the original design as much as possible, even if it harms the clarity of the screen display.

* Microsoft generally believes that the shape of the font must adapt to the limitation of pixels and ensure that the screen display is not blurred and easy to identify, even if the shape of the font deviates from the original design.

Now, the Windows version of Safari [1] has been released. The software overcame many difficulties before applying Apple's font rendering algorithm to the Windows operating system. This actually gives you a chance to compare two different font philosophies directly on the same monitor. This will help you understand the example I am going to give below. I think by comparison, you will notice the difference between the two. The font of the Apple system is a little furry and the boundaries are not very clear. However, from the computer screen, it will show more changes between different font families (font family). The reason is that Apple's rendering algorithm is more loyal to the original font design than Microsoft and can show nuances in font design in high definition, like printed matter.

The source of this difference comes from the historical tradition of Apple, which has always attached great importance to desktop publishing and graphic design. One advantage of its algorithm is that when you open a design for a printed matter on a computer, what you see on the screen is very close to what it looks like when it is finally printed. This feature is especially useful when you judge the color of a text area. Microsoft's approach is to adapt fonts to the distribution of pixels as much as possible, which means that Microsoft doesn't really care and let the furry edges of letters be replaced by thin lines, even if the text appears lighter on the screen than it does when it is printed. It doesn't matter.

Microsoft's approach also has an advantage, which is that it is good for reading to the screen. Microsoft believes in pragmatism and believes that the original design of the font is not sacrosanct, that a sharp, easy-to-read screen display is more important, and does not necessarily adhere to the font designer's original arrangement of the color of the text. That is to say, Microsoft's fonts are mainly designed for on-screen display, such as Georgia fonts and Verdana fonts, which are designed exactly according to the position of pixels, and are really beautiful on the screen, but there is nothing good about them when printed.

Apple, on the contrary, has chosen a stylized approach that puts artistry above practicality. The simple reason is that Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, has good taste, while Microsoft prefers to take a less risky route, which adopts a pragmatic point of view, as long as it can achieve the purpose of use, without any bright spots. To put it this way, if Apple is a Target supermarket chain, then Microsoft is Wal-Mart.

Okay, now it's time to discuss the key issues: which approach do users prefer? Jeff Atwood wrote an article comparing the two font technologies one by one. It is not difficult to imagine that his article aroused a warm response. Apple users like Apple's method, Microsoft users like Microsoft's method. It's not all a fanboyism. It reflects the fact that if you ask people what kind of style and design they like, unless they are specially trained, they will generally choose the variety they are most familiar with. On the most common question of taste, if you do a preference survey, you will find that most people don't know how to choose at all, so they have to choose the answer they are most familiar with. This phenomenon can be found everywhere, whether it's font applications or graphic design, or buying silverware (people choose the styles they used when they were young). Unless they are specially trained to know exactly what they want, people choose what they are most familiar with.

This is why when Apple engineers transplant software from Apple computers to Windows, they may feel that they are making a great contribution to Windows users by providing their "superior" font rendering technology to pagans. This also explains why Windows users often think that the font on Safari is a little blurry and looks weird. These users don't know why, they just don't like it. In fact, what they thought to themselves was, "Wow! this is not the same system I use. I don't like differences. Why don't I like these fonts? well, when I take a closer look, these fonts are a little blurry. That must be why I don't like them."

[1] Safari is a built-in browser for Apple's Mac OS X operating system.

[2] Wal-Mart is the largest retailer in the United States by sales and is famous for its convenient and complete shopping. Target supermarket chain is the fifth largest retailer in the United States, often engaged in some ingenious promotional activities. For example, before Thanksgiving in 2006, Target invited the famous magician David Brian to hang him in a ball over Times Square for two days to show how to free himself, attracting thousands of visitors and being widely reported by television, newspapers, the Internet and other media.

After reading the above, do you have any further understanding of the differences between Microsoft and Apple's font smoothing and anti-aliasing and sub-pixel rendering technologies? If you want to know more knowledge or related content, please follow the industry information channel, thank you for your support.

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