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Erik Karjaluoto writes that he recently installed OS X Yosemite and his initial reaction was “This got hit by the ugly stick.” But Karjaluoto says that Apple’s decision to make a wholesale shift from Lucida to Helvetica defies his expectations and wondered why Apple would make a change that impedes legibility, requires more screen space, and makes the GUI appear fuzzy? The Answer: Tomorrow.
Microsoft’s approach with Windows, and backward compatibility in general, is commendable. "Users can install new versions of this OS on old machines, sometimes built on a mishmash of components, and still have it work well. This is a remarkable feat of engineering. It also comes with limitations—as it forces Microsoft to operate in the past." Bu Apple doesn't share this focus on interoperability or legacy. "They restrict hardware options, so they can build around a smaller number of specs. Old hardware is often left behind (turn on a first-generation iPad, and witness the sluggishness). Meanwhile, dying conventions are proactively euthanized," says Karjaluoto. "When Macs no longer shipped with floppy drives, many felt baffled. This same experience occurred when a disk (CD/DVD) reader no longer came standard." In spite of the grumblings of many, Karjaluoto doesn't recall many such changes that we didn’t later look upon as the right choice.
(Score: 2) by VLM on Monday October 20 2014, @11:33AM
"using a font that looks like shit on anything but super ultra HD screens"
Welcome to my world. I make my living using computers. Unlike some fools in the general public I've always dumped money into my UI. Lighting isn't right? Change it. I have a top of the line original model M keyboard and have been typing since 1981 and not a hint of carpal tunnel and I believe those two facts are related. My chair cost several days pay although its not trendy its super comfy "executive chair". I shim my desk to precise ergonomic height for me, not for a OSHA theoretical model. Anyway one of many UI improvements I've done is when I buy a monitor, which isn't all that often, I buy top of the line for obvious reasons, so I've had 1600x1200 since the mid/late 90s. I downgraded it to LCD because of a CRT problem and the LCD just won't die (probably because it, too, was top of the line at the time). So I still have 4:3 monitors.
Anyway using 1600x1200 on linux in an era when "web designer" idiots were doing graphics arts with the assumption that all desktops (ALL!) were 640x480 or at most 800x600 was visually painful. The "craft" of web design seems to have grown up a bit over the years with phones and tablets and higher res displays so its not so awful anymore.
I've been thinking about upgrading the three monitors on my desk but its very hard to find a monitor with equal or better pixels per inch. I can get 2560 x 1600 but its a yard across which must mean pixels the size of my thumb and I don't have space on my desk for three of them (probably?)