[georgemcbay]

> fonts generally look worse in Windows than Mac.

This is subjective.

See: http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2007/06/12.html

I prefer the way fonts look on Windows. Other people prefer the way fonts look in MacOS.

> OS X does some magic to smooth out those fonts.

FWIW, it is Windows that is actually doing "magic" (in the sense that it is using a algorithm to fit pixels to grid) whereas MacOS just does a more direct rendering of the actual font curves. Whether or not you like that "magic" is up to you. Until we're using retina-style displays everywhere, I like the Windows "magic".

[bpatrianakos]

Eh, I think the consensus is that fonts are generally better on Mac. And this isn't one of those "Windows sucks because..." things, it's just that in general more fonts look better more often on Mac than Windows. You can definitely point to some fonts that render like crap on a Mac and you can definitely find people who think fonts look better on Windows but really, the truth is, nine times out of ten Mac wins when it comes to how good fonts look. I'm sure I'll be hated here for saying that especially since you linked to that HN post about it but HN is representative of a very very small and narrow but of the world of computer users. Go out into the world and ask around and you'll see. I never noticed it until I started using a Mac. Then it became abundantly clear when I had to start using Windows a lot again. I've seen hundreds of fonts on tens of displays on both platforms and Mac has got fonts in the bag most times.

I know there's an element of subjectivity to this but at the same time I don't think it's subjective at all. It's almost like saying the jury is still out on evolution or global warming. That's kinda true but, nah, not really.

Edit: After thinking about it for a moment, I still stand behind what I said but I want to narrow down "fonts" to web fonts only because that's where you see the biggest difference no matter the browser.

[georgemcbay]

> It's almost like saying the jury is still out on evolution or global warming.

No, it is nothing like that at all.

Set up a side-by-side A/B test (such as setting up Safari on Windows to use Mac-rendering) and then ask a bunch of Mac users which they prefer and they will say Mac, ask a bunch of Windows users which they prefer and they will say Windows. There are pros and cons to grid-fitting or not grid-fitting, but ultimately those pros and cons are trumped by what you're used to seeing.

My guess is you're surrounded by a bunch of Mac users and suffering from the same bubble effect you are attributing to "HN".

[nicholassmith]

I know people who use Windows and prefer the way OS X does font rendering, they just hate everything else about the platform.