

First look: new Ubuntu font boosts Linux typography - rayboyd
http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2010/07/first-look-new-ubuntu-font-boosts-linux-typography.ars

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jp_sc
"Un s a ve d D o cu m e n t 1 - g e d it"... Maybe the kerning is the next
thing to improve

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noahlt
The problem with Linux typography isn't a lack of fonts, it's bad rendering. I
can buy a font from Adobe. I can't buy a better font renderer for Linux.

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jdub
... plus, the _incredibly good_ Android "Droid" typeface is available under an
open license and looks _fantastic_ on mobile and desktop screens.

So the new Ubuntu font certainly gives them/us something unique, but I'm not
yet convinced that it gives them/us greater quality (I'm an Ubuntu member, and
have tried this early release).

Plus, you can install Droid on Ubuntu today: ttf-droid.

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joshfinnie
I did this for my new install of Ubuntu 10.04 and will never go back. I think
Google took a lot of time to get that font right, and it looks great on my
desktop.

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tptacek
The kerning on the 'i' is off (look at the 'B' 'i' pair), the upper 'I' is
indistinct, the ascender on the lower 'l' is grotesquely higher than the cap
height (look at 'P' 'l'), and the lower 't' and 's' look like the bastard
children of Eurostile. I think it's a mess.

There's a reason everyone tweaks Bitstream Vera; it works. Novelty sans fonts
aren't the reason Linux typography sucks.

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djacobs
I'm okay with the high lowercase L, but I am with ya re: the lowercase T and
S, they ain't so great.

Is it just me, or did the lowercase T come straight from the Twitter logo?

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aaronbrethorst
Great to see! Along the same lines, can anyone shed any light on why Gnome's
settings for padding around UI elements is set to such a high value? (compare
to OS X, which has very minimal padding around most UI elements).

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windsurfer
The padding is there to make the interface cleaner. It forces developers to be
more concise with their components as well as making navigation easier for
users.

Keep in mind Gnome is meant to be easy to use, not easy on the screen real-
estate. If you want a minimalist UI, there are a million alternatives in linux
land

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burriko
This has bothered me for years. Everything just looks so chunky and inelegant.
The difference really hits home if you compare Rhythmbox and iTunes (OS X
version, not Windows) side by side. Rhythmbox just appears to be wasting so
much space.

Arguing that it makes the interface cleaner might seem correct in theory, but
in practice it really doesn't seem to hold true. Especially when you compare
to OS X, which has an extremely clean interface without any over padding of
elements.

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heresy
In addition to the excessive padding, what bothers me, is that the typeface
choices in Linux are so oversized and ugly.

And the way Linux renders Segoe UI is ghastly compared to the Windows
rendering.

If you want a smaller font size, you're out of luck since the padding seems to
be assuming that you're going to have those big 5/20 vision fonts, so your
buttons have a tiny bit of text in the middle, and acres of space round them.

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volomike
The font looks too Star-Trekkie, somewhat Romulan in fact. Nice for a logo,
but sucks to see that on all the windows.

Remember Nautilus? There was a particular version of Ubuntu that shipped where
Nautilus folder doubleclicks kept opening new windows rather than using the
same window. DID NOT WANT. And unfortunately Ubuntu shipped with that. The
community pushed it back, and so in the next release they knocked that off. So
let's hope they don't ship this font as the standard default font.

I appreciate them trying to improve the interface, but forcing everyone from
right closing windows to left was too drastic in 10.04 LTS. I quickly reverted
back to Clearlooks.

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jallmann
That really is quite pleasing to look at. And as the article mentions, it
matches up against the type in the Ubuntu logo nicely. Take note of the 'u',
the 'n' and the 'a'.

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drguildo
_closed beta_

Wait, what?

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pyre
From <http://design.canonical.com/2010/07/the-ubuntu-font/>:

    
    
      > Today all Ubuntu Members will have access to a
      > private PPA so that they can use, test and enjoy
      > the font.
      > 
      > The font is scheduled for completion 8th August
      > and this is when we aim to open the beta to everyone.
    

So the they are opening usage to a select group prior to the actual completion
of the font's design.

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rdtsc
I think that makes sense. Perhaps the foundry asked for it. They wouldn't want
to any negative comments because the work is not finished yet.

~~~
Groxx
And they probably (rightfully so) fear a wave of mostly-uninformed (read: non-
typographic-geek) comments.

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megaman821
It is such a small thing, but the font rendering quality has always prevented
me from enjoying Linux. I read so much while on the computer the horrible
rendering and kerning just nag at me until I don't feel like reading anything
else until I switch OS's.

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djacobs
Is it the rendering or the font choice that you don't like? I, for one,
install Lucida Grande as my system font and Monaco or Menlo as my monotype
font and think the design looks much fresher.

Sure, the rendering isn't 100% perfect, but with sub-pixel smoothing, I really
don't mind it.

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hammerdr
Anyone know if Dalton Maag is making a serif font, as well? Despite the long
lived computer love affair with sans, serif is becoming more important with
higher resolution screens (think Retina Display).

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snitko
When someone talks about Linux problems with fonts rendering now, I get really
confused. I worked on Win/Mac/Linux (currently using Macbook and Ubuntu
Desktop) and I have to say Linux has the best font rendering. Compare this:

<http://dl.dropbox.com/u/113891/pics/font_rendering_linux.png>
[http://dl.dropbox.com/u/113891/pics/font_rendering_macosx.pn...](http://dl.dropbox.com/u/113891/pics/font_rendering_macosx.png)

~~~
snitko
With this new font, things look even more amazing. Great font.

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whalesalad
Can someone provide a download to the actual file? I'd love to play around
with it, without jumping through hoops on launchpad with openid and such.
Anyone have it or have easy access to it?

~~~
rdtsc
The article said it is a closed beta. Perhaps, if you install 10.10 eventually
you'll get the new fonts in the repo.

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vrode
It's beautiful. Despite the flaws, it warms my heart to see that someone is
actually taking interface fonts seriously on Linux. I share the controversial
belief that games and software are far too obvious to be the reason why
Windows got ahead. I think it is the attention to everyday details like fonts,
that made Windows more popular.

