Fuzzy text on 12 inch Powerbooks

[blissed]

I sent this message to an Apple moderator. Who wants to bet I won't hear back?

Hello Gail,

I have a 12 inch powerbook question since I see you have one. I continue to see posts on the Apple discussion boards like "Is the 12" PB Screen Still Fuzzy/Washed out?" or "Inferior display." And to be honest I have seen this fuzzy text phenomena first hand at the local Apple store.

I have researched this and some people claim the screens are perfect. Some don't. Some claim it got better after the latest OS revision. Some claim it got worse. Some claim it is Apple's font smoothing program. And some claim it is an artifact of the hardware used in the computers (a lost in translation type of scenario.)

Please inform me of the realities of this issue. I find it dissapointing that Apple will not comment on it in the Apple discussion forums. It is a very real problem. Thank you.

[_Ω_]

I am not sure about what you are expecting, but the approach you are taken immediately puts them on the defensive. It seems you have already formed your opinion, and most people will see that nothing that they can write will meet your satisfaction.

Just my 2c, but I think you could have been a bit more "tactful".

:)

[Brad]

First of all, be sure you use the screen's native resolution: 1024x768. Anything else will look blurred.

Secondly, Mac OS X's quartz antialiasing more accurately portrays the correct shape of the fonts, but it uses more pixels and grey shading around the letters than Windows or Classic Mac OS. Some people don't like this and prefer the hard, bitmapped edges of fonts in Windows and Classic Mac OS. This is simply the way Mac OS X works and you may have to just get used to it.

Here's one way to test if your LCD is really messed up somehow. Look at the picture attached below on your 12"PB and then look at it on some other computer. Does it look the same? This is how text is *supposed* to look in Mac OS X with the standard setting for antialiasing.

You can change the level of sub-pixel antialiasing in Mac OS X through System Preferences: Appearance. Applications need to be relaunched for this change to take effect in them.

[blissed]

Yes. I suppose tactful would be a better route to go. It seems like I've exhausted the limits of what I can find out about this though. The last post here gives me some better answers. Yes, it is that fuzzy-ness around the fonts that I am concerned about.

I'm considering getting a 12 inch Powerbook, but I worry that I can't handle looking at fuzzy fonts all day long... and Apple doesn't seem to comment on it at all, when clearly a number of people notice it... it's not very reassuring at some level...

Thanks.

[DMBand0026]

I've got a 12" running that the native resolution and things look great from here :\

I don't see this "fuzzy text" that you speak of, I've never seen it.

[FFL]

Frankly, the Apple support forums are for existing customers, not for pre-sales questions from prospective customers. Nothing wrong with wanting more info, but a poll of 12" owners here and at other "3rd party" forums would be much more appropriate, with infinitely better chances of actually receiving *any* answer, or especially a useful one.

[ast3r3x]

Oh man, I hate windows because of how the text looks. I feel like I'm going to poke out my eye when I try to read stuff.

[blissed]

Frankly, I own a mac. This would be an upgrade for me and considering Apple is just now offering to fix white dots on 15inch powerbooks your comments seem well kinda off-base...

[alcimedes]

um, they offered to fix the white spots within a few weeks of them being noticed, iirc. (maybe a month?) my dad had his fixed over 8 months ago.

[ast3r3x]

I sent my computer in on the 9th to be fixed as well. A week or two before they offered to fix them ;)

[FFL]

Does owning a Mac already change the fact that you are asking for (err...make that "demanding") sales information from a support forum?

No.

The direct retail channel is well-established. If you want to ask pre-sales questions to an Apple employee, go to an Apple Store, or call 1-800-MY-APPLE

A little more understanding and a little less attitude would definitely make your task easier.

[ast3r3x]

From personal experience, there are two 12" PowerBooks I've used in person and both looked perfectly fine. One from around when the originally came out, and another from just two weeks ago. I think text may look blurry if you compare it to a windows computer just because like Brad said, the sharp bitmapped text is just that...sharp and bitmapped.

[chipz]

I have a Rev A 12" PB and I haven't noticed any fuzzy fonts or images. Perhaps this problem does exist, but probably is limited to a few computers. It probably isn't widespread.

[Technarch]

I'm on a new MacBook right this second, and I'm unhappy at the blurry fonts too.

That thumbnail Brad posted, a lot of the lines are blurry. And looking at text on the screen in the browser, etc. also looks blurry. Some letters look lighter in colour than others on the vertical axis.. like 'l' etc.

I'm a PC user and I like fonts to be sharp.