
SGI screen fonts converted for OS X - ingve
http://njr.sabi.net/2015/11/01/sgi-screen-fonts-converted-for-os-x/
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devereaux
They are really nice, but I wonder if the fonts we have available today are
not better - if only because more eyeballs have been using and improving them.

Also, having unicode glyphs is more important now that it was before. If my
font can't show "άꚍαραξία", or "∀ a,b,c ∈ ℝ³", I think I am missing
something, even if it looks good.

Droid Sans and Deja vu Sans look perfect to me. But I never got to use an
actual SGI, so maybe I'm missing something about the technical advantage of
using these fonts.

~~~
to3m
The main advantage of this sort of font is that you can see the pixels. This
may not be to all tastes, but at ~95dpi I find pixelly fonts easier on the
eye. The right angles and hard edges seem to make it easier for my eyes to get
the right focus setting.

I usually use the 6x13 font from here: [https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs-
fonts.html](https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/ucs-fonts.html) \- all the Unicode
you can eat!

(I think it's nicer than the 6x13 SGI one (Screen 13pt on OS X) which is a bit
cramped-looking. The 7x14 SGI one (Screen 14pt on OS X) is much better - looks
like basically the same glyphs as 6x13, but with an extra pixel breathing
room.)

~~~
userbinator
_The right angles and hard edges seem to make it easier for my eyes to get the
right focus setting._

I agree; when I first used an LCD, the best part of the experience was how
_sharp_ everything looked. On a CRT the pixels were somewhat blurry no matter
what, but the LCD made the pixels actually look like little squares and it
felt like my eyes were in focus. I can stand antialiasing on large fonts but
small text looks better to me without AA, and subpixel AA just makes me feel
dizzy since my eyes seem to be continually trying to focus to get those sharp
edges.

Misc-Fixed is my favourite font too, although I've modified mine with a
slashed zero to make 0 and O more distinctive.

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wrs
NeXTstep (from which OS X is derived) used a font for its terminal window that
could very well be this same font, perhaps with minor tweaks:

[http://www.typewritten.org/Media/Images/nextstep-1.0.png](http://www.typewritten.org/Media/Images/nextstep-1.0.png)

It would be funny if this font is indeed just coming full circle.

~~~
thought_alarm
The SGI font has a bit more personality:
[http://i.imgur.com/P5GN4uZ.png](http://i.imgur.com/P5GN4uZ.png)

The old NeXT font is actually very close to dear old Monaco:
[http://i.imgur.com/Cf1xED2.png](http://i.imgur.com/Cf1xED2.png)

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hiphopyo
There's also the 4Dwm theme for fvwm:
[http://4dwm.lumpiarze.nstrefa.pl/](http://4dwm.lumpiarze.nstrefa.pl/)

Wish there was something similar for Windows 10.

~~~
mixmastamyk
I enjoyed that desktop, but couldn't tolerate those aliased italic fonts
today. Hopefully there is a way to have subpixel font rendering.

~~~
Theodores
Trinitron CRTs with the SGI cube at the bottom of the bezel were perfect for
these fonts, they did the sub-pixel anti-aliasing beautifully thanks to the
wonders of an analog signal with a little bit of interlacing thrown in for
good measure. 1280x1024 was big back then.

~~~
mhd
Didn't late SGIs have those huge 24" 2300 x 1400 CRTs that weighed more than a
VW Beetle?

~~~
ddingus
I had one, and yes! They were HEAVY. But, they were awesome too.

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pantulis
Awesome! Now if someone could port the "Twilight" animated wallpaper....

[http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?t=16282](http://forums.nekochan.net/viewtopic.php?t=16282)

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irixusr
Now if only someone would finish SGI emulation so I can run my old programs
without loud fans, dying hard drives and the equivalent of a space heater war
in the room up.

~~~
wazoox
I see you too have an MXE Octane :)

~~~
Keyframe
I still have Octane2 at work somewhere stored. I need to boot that baby up and
smirk for awhile! Maybe even start a Maya session. What was the command in
boot time to check the hardware installed? I forgot all of those shenanigans.

~~~
psi
Are you thinking of `hinv`? I have never actually had my hands on an SGI box
but somehow just remembered this from all the reading I did back when I was
lusting after one :)

~~~
Keyframe
It is hinv! I was very fortunate to have worked and had nonstop access to SGI
boxes from very early age. Most of learning and work I did was on Indigo2
boxes (green and purple ones (MAXIMUM IMPACT!) :)) and later on on Octanes and
some on O2s if Octane was having a vacation. One machine that, to this day, I
really adored was also the first SGI I had my hands on - Crimson. We didn't
spend much time together because new SGI boxes were on their way towards where
I was at, but little time we spent together was magical. I was (VERY) young
and impressionable! Other machines I had pretty much learned on and later on
worked on (graphics) were either Sun boxes or Amigas. I didn't get serious
introduction to PCs and Macs (apart from games) until far later on. SGI is
where I started. Time to bring that Octane2 to life. Thanks!

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ddingus
Excellent. Used an O2 a lot, and I found those fonts very readable too.

