horrible unaliased fonts for google earth 6 on slackware 13.37 64-bit

flupwatson · 12-05-2011, 02:23 AM

I installed Google Earth 6 from slackbuilds.org on Slackware 13.37 64-bit w/ multilib

The fonts are horrible jagged and unaliased. Googling around I found two solutions - one
deleting the libQt libs from /opt/google. That only works for Google Earth 5, however.

The second was installing the MS ttf webcore fonts so I installed webcore-fonts, also from slackbuilds.

This had no effect whatsoever - still the same crappy jagged fonts.

Next experiment, I booted into Linux Mint 12 on another partition. On installing Google Earth 6, I was again greeted by crappy fonts, just like in Slack. Then I tried installing their webcore fonts: ttf-mscore-installer and the result was beautiful fonts.

So, I don't get it - why does this solve the problem in Mint, but not Slack. Are ideas?

Doc CPU · 12-05-2011, 03:03 AM

Hi there,

Quote:

Originally Posted by flupwatson

I installed Google Earth 6 from slackbuilds.org on Slackware 13.37 64-bit w/ multilib

The fonts are horrible jagged and unaliased. Googling around I found two solutions - one
deleting the libQt libs from /opt/google. That only works for Google Earth 5, however.

The second was installing the MS ttf webcore fonts so I installed webcore-fonts, also from slackbuilds.

This had no effect whatsoever - still the same crappy jagged fonts.

let's distinguish between the two appearances "jagged" and "unaliased". Even unaliased fonts can look good. However, I think I understand what you mean.

I always disable font smoothing whenever possible, because I'm one of those people who perceive aliased fonts as blurred, like an out-of-focus photo, even when some other people say the settings are perfect. When I have to look at such smoothed fonts for some time, it's straining my eyes that constantly try to focus with no success, and I quickly get a headache. In Windows, for example, when I disable Smear... erm, ClearType, the fonts look perfect for me.
So I expected the same improvement on Linux (Ubuntu w/Gnome desktop) when I disabled font smoothing effects. The result was, as you say, that most fonts looked sharp and in perfect focus, but jagged and crappy. I played with the settings a while, but to no avail. I installed mscorefonts, hoping that the Windows fonts look as good as I know them from Windows itself. But no, it was the same edgy appearance.
Only when I took the original TTF files from my Windows machine and installed them on Ubuntu, it suddenly looked perfect: Crisp and clear, with sharp punch-like edges, and yet smooth and pleasant.

So what I'm saying: If you own a copy of Windows as well, try transplanting the original True Type fonts from Windows. The mscorefonts package available for Linux is obvously just a bad imitation.

[X] Doc CPU

flupwatson · 12-05-2011, 03:30 AM

Very interesting info. I thought the jagged look only came from being unaliased, but I stand corrected.

I just copied all my fonts from my windows7 partition in /usr/local/share/fonts and then just to be sure, disabled all other
font directories in xorg.conf

There was a definite improvement in fonts systemwide, but unfortunately there was no change at all in the fonts
in google earth - still just as crappy and jagged as ever. I really wish I could figure what's causing that!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc CPU

Hi there,

let's distinguish between the two appearances "jagged" and "unaliased". Even unaliased fonts can look good. However, I think I understand what you mean.

I always disable font smoothing whenever possible, because I'm one of those people who perceive aliased fonts as blurred, like an out-of-focus photo, even when some other people say the settings are perfect. When I have to look at such smoothed fonts for some time, it's straining my eyes that constantly try to focus with no success, and I quickly get a headache. In Windows, for example, when I disable Smear... erm, ClearType, the fonts look perfect for me.
So I expected the same improvement on Linux (Ubuntu w/Gnome desktop) when I disabled font smoothing effects. The result was, as you say, that most fonts looked sharp and in perfect focus, but jagged and crappy. I played with the settings a while, but to no avail. I installed mscorefonts, hoping that the Windows fonts look as good as I know them from Windows itself. But no, it was the same edgy appearance.
Only when I took the original TTF files from my Windows machine and installed them on Ubuntu, it suddenly looked perfect: Crisp and clear, with sharp punch-like edges, and yet smooth and pleasant.

So what I'm saying: If you own a copy of Windows as well, try transplanting the original True Type fonts from Windows. The mscorefonts package available for Linux is obvously just a bad imitation.

[X] Doc CPU

Doc CPU · 12-05-2011, 03:45 AM

Hi there,

Quote:

Originally Posted by flupwatson

Very interesting info. I thought the jagged look only came from being unaliased, but I stand corrected.

there's a very sophisticated thing called "hinting" in True Type fonts, which is -simply put- additional information embedded in the font file, that tells the rendering algorithm how to shift about one or the other pixel to improve the look, especially when the font is displayed in small sizes.
The Microsoft fonts are excellently hinted, while the Linux imitations are not. Not that well, anyway.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flupwatson

I just copied all my fonts from my windows7 partition in /usr/local/share/fonts and then just to be sure, disabled all other font directories in xorg.conf

There was a definite improvement in fonts systemwide, but unfortunately there was no change at all in the fonts
in google earth - still just as crappy and jagged as ever. I really wish I could figure what's causing that!

Fine that you can confirm the overall improvement; pity, however, that Google Earth seems to brew its own here.

[X] Doc CPU