From: "Tim" <ignored_mailbox@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Tim:
I sit further back from my VDU because I can't stand the flickering, but
my eyesight is good enough that I have fonts the same size as most other
people
Tom Horsley:
So we also need a EyesightQuality parameter to go with DistanceFromMonitor :-).
I don't think either proposal does it. Real sizing does work. e.g. If
I can type a letter on A4 paper, specify 12 point text, then set the
word processor to show at 100%, I ought to be able to hold the paper
next to the screen, and the rendition of the page ought to be the same
between the two of them (as near as practically possible).
That requires calibrating my system to the monitor, but that's easy
enough to do. And does mean that one PC shows consistent results
compared against another.
Specifying fonts in pixels is fraught with ambiguities. What size is
the pixel? The real pixel drawn across the screen, the size of the dot
on the screen (which can be different, and probably is for CRT VDUs).
And, of course, 12 pixel text on your screen is going to be a different
size, and possibly proportion of the screen space, compared to mine.
Check out HTML. If you study it a bit you'll notice that it handles
specifying sizes in pixels but is pathetic for sizes in centimeters
or inches. For one there's little or no implied handling for resizing
images in inches rather than in pixels.
So if I have a really old 72 dpi monitor pixels and points pretty much
align neatly. And the text looks incredibly blocky if you sit close to
the screen, as close as you might read a paperback book, for example.
Even a 120 dpi monitor with the font pixel size scaled to still be the
same measured size on the screen still displays a remarkably blocky
image. And all your embedded pictures on your web page come out 6/10ths
the size they should to make the page appear correct. So you need to
squint up close (bad) or use a magnifier (bad) to see the picture
correctly. If I could get a nice 600 dpi monitor most web sites would
show micro-pictures and nicely shaped fonts - IF you could get the
browser to scale fonts properly.
It's been time to address this issue for at least a decade now. IMAO
somebody should develop a serious browser that overrides pixel
specifications by scaling everything to compensate for distance from
screen, for pixel density of the screen, and for the user's various
eye deficiencies.
Of course, the down side to fully scaling that way is that it violates
the desire for users to have more and more information on their screens
as the screen size increases, thus defeating some of the potential
benefits of a larger screen. I suspect a nice additional button up with
dismiss, minimize, and full screen would be a "give up focus" button.
Add this to a function that shrinks the window to a smaller but still
(marginally) readable size when it does not have focus and you might
have an interestingly usable GUI concept. Of course, the idea needs work,
a lot of work. But it's one I've been contemplating for years now as a
nice compromise for "more screen seems to require more stuff on the
screen" and "I want to use the bigger screen to see clearer." (I'm quite
tired of blocky or fuzzy fonts with fur on the screen; and, I realize
that 2400 dpi is too much to ask for even though it'd be "to die for.")
{o.o}
