I've been using Terminus at 9px on low-DPI monitors for many years, and have been loving it. Super crisp, and I can fit so many characters per physical square inch (without needing to squint or...
I've been using Terminus at 9px on low-DPI monitors for many years, and have been loving it. Super crisp, and I can fit so many characters per physical square inch (without needing to squint or lean towards the monitor). Non-bitmap fonts, at that pixel size, on low-DPI monitors -- nothing I've tried looks as clear, crisp and legible.
I think he doesn't mention them precisely because they are on their way out. Bitmap font support is no longer enabled by default on many Linux distros. I'm not even sure if macOS still supports...
I think he doesn't mention them precisely because they are on their way out. Bitmap font support is no longer enabled by default on many Linux distros. I'm not even sure if macOS still supports them. They still have their use cases, but since he is clearly a Mac user, odds are he isn't working a low-DPI display that will benefit from them.
Heh, I'm amused that the "italic" version of Curie abandons the tilted roundness approach altogether and goes extra blocky instead. I must admit that I do like the idea of using this kind of font...
Heh, I'm amused that the "italic" version of Curie abandons the tilted roundness approach altogether and goes extra blocky instead.
I must admit that I do like the idea of using this kind of font in a programming environment, but the lack of a notably different italic variation makes me hesitate.
Honestly, 2x scaling on a 27" 4k monitor makes everything look way too huge. Maybe I should just get a 1440p monitor instead of 4k. Does anyone have experience using a 32" 4k monitor with no scaling?
That means, if you have a 4k monitor (3840×2160), and use 2× scaling, you’ll get an equivalent of 1920×1080 logical pixels. So it’s a basic 1080p monitor in terms of how much you can fit, but with much crisper UI and text in everything.
Now, it might be tempting to use, for example, 1.5× scaling. That would give you an equivalent of 2560×1440 logical pixels, which, you might think, is much better. This is not how you should use it! The idea of a 4k monitor is NOT to get more pixels but to get the pixel-perfect, high-density UI rendering. Otherwise, a normal 1440p display would work better.
Honestly, 2x scaling on a 27" 4k monitor makes everything look way too huge. Maybe I should just get a 1440p monitor instead of 4k.
Does anyone have experience using a 32" 4k monitor with no scaling?
It sounds like you've used a 27" 4K monitor before. Have you tried it with no scaling? My monitor is a 28" 3840x2160 that I run unscaled with no real issues. (Literally every coworker who walks by...
It sounds like you've used a 27" 4K monitor before. Have you tried it with no scaling? My monitor is a 28" 3840x2160 that I run unscaled with no real issues. (Literally every coworker who walks by comments on it, though.)
I also feel the (mostly nonconstructive) need to snark about:
The idea of a 4k monitor is NOT to get more pixels
I mean, this is just obviously false. The author is just advocating for using those pixels on rendering text at larger pixel sizes, rather than fitting more text.
I've got a 25" 1440p for my main and I don't know how anybody would manage with a larger monitor at this resolution. I've never worked with a 32" 4K, but I've seen them in the store and they look...
I've got a 25" 1440p for my main and I don't know how anybody would manage with a larger monitor at this resolution.
I've never worked with a 32" 4K, but I've seen them in the store and they look great. I'm very much in the camp of 'everything is always too big', though.
I can only surmise that “Easter egg flashlight mode” is intentional and the comment that it is a “broken dark mode” is a misunderstanding. Though the website sure makes you think it would be a...
I can only surmise that “Easter egg flashlight mode” is intentional and the comment that it is a “broken dark mode” is a misunderstanding. Though the website sure makes you think it would be a normal dark mode!
He has a lot of opinions on monitors, fonts, scaling and whatnot. I don't agree with a lot of it on a personal level, but I'm glad he's getting some mileage out of his setup. I have 2 27" monitors...
He has a lot of opinions on monitors, fonts, scaling and whatnot. I don't agree with a lot of it on a personal level, but I'm glad he's getting some mileage out of his setup.
I have 2 27" monitors - one is a BenQ EL2870U 4k monitor, and the other is a Dell U2715H 2k monitor.
I bought the 4k monitor because I wanted to see what the fidelity was like at such a high resolution. With zero scaling, things are a bit hard to read (I'm short sighted), but under Windows, I cranked up scaling to 150% and it works really well.
I've also connected the Dell Monitor, which is alongside it with 100% scaling and honestly that is perfect to me.
In hindsight, I wish I got the two Dell Monitors instead of the 4k one. The BenQ monitor has a few flickering issues and once you get over the initial excitement of having a 4k monitor, it doesn't really offer that much over the 2k apart from pretty pixels.
That, and trying to get scaling working under Ubuntu 20.04 has been an absolute nightmare. So much so that I've pretty much abandoned that distro and gone back to Windows (it isn't just scaling, mind. It's lots of little tiny things that I don't have the time nor the energy to faff around with).
I'm trying to get scaling like it is under Windows, where my 4K monitor is at 150% and the 2k monitor is at 100%. Ubuntu does technically allow incremental scaling, but it comes with asterisks...
I'm trying to get scaling like it is under Windows, where my 4K monitor is at 150% and the 2k monitor is at 100%.
Ubuntu does technically allow incremental scaling, but it comes with asterisks including worse performance and increased power usage.
I've tried scaling like on Windows, but then everything becomes incredibly jittery. I scale at 100% and I feel like I need binoculars when I'm 30cm away from my monitor. 200% and it feels like a massive waste of space.
And if I change the scaling options too much, Ubuntu Linux black screens and I have to reboot the entire machine.
If I was dealing with one monitor, I think I wouldn't have nearly as much hassle. But two different monitors at two different resolutions? That really throws Ubuntu in a loop.
I've been using Terminus at 9px on low-DPI monitors for many years, and have been loving it. Super crisp, and I can fit so many characters per physical square inch (without needing to squint or lean towards the monitor). Non-bitmap fonts, at that pixel size, on low-DPI monitors -- nothing I've tried looks as clear, crisp and legible.
I'll check out Scientifica.
I think he doesn't mention them precisely because they are on their way out. Bitmap font support is no longer enabled by default on many Linux distros. I'm not even sure if macOS still supports them. They still have their use cases, but since he is clearly a Mac user, odds are he isn't working a low-DPI display that will benefit from them.
Heh, I'm amused that the "italic" version of Curie abandons the tilted roundness approach altogether and goes extra blocky instead.
I must admit that I do like the idea of using this kind of font in a programming environment, but the lack of a notably different italic variation makes me hesitate.
I'm using hermit and I love, but it's two 1080p displays.
Honestly, 2x scaling on a 27" 4k monitor makes everything look way too huge. Maybe I should just get a 1440p monitor instead of 4k.
Does anyone have experience using a 32" 4k monitor with no scaling?
It sounds like you've used a 27" 4K monitor before. Have you tried it with no scaling? My monitor is a 28" 3840x2160 that I run unscaled with no real issues. (Literally every coworker who walks by comments on it, though.)
I also feel the (mostly nonconstructive) need to snark about:
I mean, this is just obviously false. The author is just advocating for using those pixels on rendering text at larger pixel sizes, rather than fitting more text.
I've got a 25" 1440p for my main and I don't know how anybody would manage with a larger monitor at this resolution.
I've never worked with a 32" 4K, but I've seen them in the store and they look great. I'm very much in the camp of 'everything is always too big', though.
1440p at 27" seems like the sweet spot to me. 32" at 2160p is about the same pixel density.
Wow, this is the strangest "dark mode" I've seen. This feels more like some kind of easter egg flashlight mode than it does an actual dark mode.
I can only surmise that “Easter egg flashlight mode” is intentional and the comment that it is a “broken dark mode” is a misunderstanding. Though the website sure makes you think it would be a normal dark mode!
I think my 1080p is sexy as hell. It's my external and laptop monitors side by side.
Here in Brazil having a 4k is way too expensive.
He has a lot of opinions on monitors, fonts, scaling and whatnot. I don't agree with a lot of it on a personal level, but I'm glad he's getting some mileage out of his setup.
I have 2 27" monitors - one is a BenQ EL2870U 4k monitor, and the other is a Dell U2715H 2k monitor.
I bought the 4k monitor because I wanted to see what the fidelity was like at such a high resolution. With zero scaling, things are a bit hard to read (I'm short sighted), but under Windows, I cranked up scaling to 150% and it works really well.
I've also connected the Dell Monitor, which is alongside it with 100% scaling and honestly that is perfect to me.
In hindsight, I wish I got the two Dell Monitors instead of the 4k one. The BenQ monitor has a few flickering issues and once you get over the initial excitement of having a 4k monitor, it doesn't really offer that much over the 2k apart from pretty pixels.
That, and trying to get scaling working under Ubuntu 20.04 has been an absolute nightmare. So much so that I've pretty much abandoned that distro and gone back to Windows (it isn't just scaling, mind. It's lots of little tiny things that I don't have the time nor the energy to faff around with).
I'm trying to get scaling like it is under Windows, where my 4K monitor is at 150% and the 2k monitor is at 100%.
Ubuntu does technically allow incremental scaling, but it comes with asterisks including worse performance and increased power usage.
I've tried scaling like on Windows, but then everything becomes incredibly jittery. I scale at 100% and I feel like I need binoculars when I'm 30cm away from my monitor. 200% and it feels like a massive waste of space.
And if I change the scaling options too much, Ubuntu Linux black screens and I have to reboot the entire machine.
If I was dealing with one monitor, I think I wouldn't have nearly as much hassle. But two different monitors at two different resolutions? That really throws Ubuntu in a loop.