[PLUG] Font sizes on pixilla (QXGA T60)

[Carlos Konstanski]

On Mon, 14 Dec 2009, Keith Lofstrom wrote:

> Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:10:29 -0800
> From: Keith Lofstrom <keithl at kl-ic.com>
> Reply-To: keithl at keithl.com,
>     "General Linux/UNIX discussion and help;	civil and on-topic"
>     <plug at lists.pdxlinux.org>
> To: PLUG <plug at lists.pdxlinux.org>
> Subject: [PLUG] Font sizes on pixilla (QXGA T60)
> 
> After some initial euphoria with the QXGA 2Kx1.5K T60 laptop
> (two page 12 point text in OpenOffice looks wonderful!), I am
> running into font problems, mostly browser related.
>
> Google gadgets are clipped.  Some flash content comes in Really
> Small.  Some use 5x7 fonts, the line spacing is 1.2 mm!  Thumbnails
> are tiny.  I imagine I will find fixes, but the original incentive
> (making cleaner looking, easier to read characters for old eyes)
> is not happening the way I had hoped.
>
> The pixels on this thing are 0.15mm.  Crazy small.  An iPhone is
> 0.16mm, and an 11.6 inch WXGA 1101 EeePC is 2.3mm.
>
> Yes, I can use a magnifier like kmag, or bring the machine up
> in 1024x768 screen mode.  The  Ctrl+ "view larger" on firefox
> does expand pictures, but some things ignore that.
>
> Hopefully, in a week or two, I will find some fixes, probably some
> hidden firefox configuration parameters.  Meanwhile, I can think
> vengeful thoughts about all the young programmers writing unscalable
> apps.  Someday, their young eyes will get old, they will no longer
> be able to see their own apps, get fired, and live in the gutter :-/
>
> Keith

Perhaps you can play with the DPI setting by adding this to
~/.Xdefaults:

Xft*dpi: 92.0

I have noticed that fonts look different with different video
drivers. The fglrx friver makes fonts bigger than the radeon driver,
for example.

Carlos