Xref: utzoo comp.sys.mac:35745 comp.sys.mac.programmer:8006
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!husc6!mit-eddie!mit-amt!mjkobb
From: mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac,comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: System 7.0 speculations: Hot Scoop?
Summary: The Catch?
Keywords: System 7.0 Anti Aliased Fonts
Message-ID: <404@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 2 Aug 89 19:05:39 GMT
References: <587GDAU100@BGUVM> <26548@amdcad.AMD.COM> <24101@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> <458@lloyd.camex.uucp>
Reply-To: mjkobb@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Michael J Kobb)
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA
Lines: 37

In article <458@lloyd.camex.uucp> kent@lloyd.UUCP (Kent Borg) writes:
>In article <24101@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu> truel@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (Robert Truel) writes:
>>
>>I agree.  Since apple is creating a new outline font capability in the
>>new system, I would like to encourage the inclusion of "fuzzy" fonts
>>in system 7.0.  Aliases fonts should have considerably better quality
>>and much less eyestrain.  Moreover the technology is available and
>>simple.  Especially simple if the macintosh is creating bitmap fonts
>>on the fly.  

>Want an answer in the form of a wild-ass prediction?  
>
>Apple knows that fuzzy fonts are better, but Apple has *no* intention
>of making the new font manager output fuzzy fonts.
>
>Never.  
>
>Rather, when they fix QuickDraw (i.e., give it all that PostScript can


One thing, though, for both of you.  Anti-aliasing is going to require some
computation.  If you watch the demo that apple has (or the one I saw, anyway)
of the new outline fonts, it starts printing slowly, then speeds up as it
begins to repeat characters it's already built.  The demo was "filmed" on a
Mac II (I don't know if it was a IIx or IIcx, but I suspect that it was) and it
was still fairly slow.  Now imagine throwing in all the computation for the
anti-aliasing.  The first characters are going to crawl.  Displays with, say,
24-bit depth would be particularly hard-hit, I think.  And Quick Draw won't
be quick if it does anti-aliasing, either, since it doesn't use a build-once-
then-reuse process...

Finally, I talked to a guy from Apple about two months ago.  His word was that
Apple has no plans for anti-aliasing in this release.  Oh, well.

--Mike

Standard disclaimers...