Well done M$; XP is actually quite a stable, usable OS, but…
Yes, I know it’s only an option, but do you really think that I want a desktop that looks like Tellytubbyland?
Do you really think that an OS that has the word ‘Professional’ in the name should confront the user with a goofy looking cartoon dog when he tries to search for files?
ClearType? My Eyes!, My Eyes! - why did you decide to call it cleartype?; it looks far from clear to me; you should have chosen a more appropriate name; May I suggest ‘BlurryType’ or ‘ChromaticAberrationType’?.
Yeah, the default desktop does look like crap. And one of my first steps after installing XP was disabling all the useless, extraneous options that just suck up system resources (why the hell would I want my windows to take five seconds to fade out after I press the “minimize” button? When I want them gone, I want them gone NOW!).
But Cleartype? Gotta disagree with you there, buckaroo. Looks like a textual orgasm on my computer, unless I play Counterstrike (then I get a greenish tint to the text).
ClearType is actually pretty good. I use Mac OS X on my new iMac, and it renders fonts with a similar respect. They don’t look blurry, they look real, like text would look on paper. Over time, and especailly on LCD panels, its much easier on your eyes.
Yeah, .Net Passport is not only evil, its’ buggy. I stopped using Hotmail because I won’t support it or Microsoft’s dominate-the-Internet agenda.
For once, a microsoft rant with no “OMG TEH MICROSHAFT SUCKS CUZ IT HAS SUM BUGZ AND IT DOESNT SUPPORT TEN YEAR OLD DOS SOFTWARE OMG OH GNOS” clap clap clap
A long time ago, I downloaded a demo of a subpixel rendering utility that predates ClearType and it was OKish, but there’s a definite coloured fringe to the characters* when I turn on Cleartype on this machine and they also don’t look nearly as crisp. It’s a 14.1" LCD screen with 1024x768 resolution BTW.
*I’ve turned it back on for a moment; in the text in the address bar on this page that I’m looking at now, there’s a distinct bluish cast to the second / after the http and the h in straightdope; whereas the i and p in straightdope have a reddish cast, yeuch!, it’s just like when you get new glasses and everything looks wrong but harder to get accustomed to.
I think it’s the monitor that’s screwing you up. Have you tried the cleartype monitor configuration utility? I think it’s in the help section somewhere.
Say, I never bothered to learn, but what exactly is the .Net Passport? I’ve never bothered reading any of the E-mails I’ve been sent. Is it anything like what the Lycos Network tried (and failed) to implement?
Anyway, about Cleartype… they say that it’s supposed to help you if you have an LCD, but I’ve heard mixed results from flatpanel owners. On my 19" flatscreen, it’s beautiful.
Am I to guess that you have one of the first LCD monitors to be introduced?
It’s not a monitor; I’m using a brand new notebook; 1024x768 is the native resolution; I did the cleartype configuration thing and it now looks very much better. Thanks Fallom.
ClearType basically tries to render in high resolution the same way those old Apple II computers did. Remember when vertical lines were either red or green, never white? Looks dumb on a regular monitor, but I guess it looks OK on an LCD screen where all the pixels are arranged in a nice grid of red green blue, red green blue. Some screens are BGR instead so you may have to change an option if it looks bad on your flat panel.
SPOOFE: the .net passport is essentially a digital ID; you have to divulge certain personal details to MS to get hotmail, so the logic is that MS can vouch for your identity at other sites (eBay, for example) without you having to jump through lots of hoops.
That’s the theory, anyway; the practice isn’t quite as good.
Ah, so it’s one of those schemes designed to make the computer illiterate think that they know what they’re doing when they use their 133t skillz to buy underpants off the Internet. Gotcha.
