Windows XP Hacks

Use ClearType for Better Laptop and LCD Resolution

Stop squinting at your laptop or LCD screen. Make any laptop and LCD screen easy to read.

Many people who use laptops complain that text is particularly difficult to read on LCD screens. Making matters worse is that many laptops are designed to work at very high resolutions (for example, 1400 by 1050 pixels), and at those resolutions the small type is particularly problematic on an LCD. The problem gets increasingly worse, because laptop screens keep getting larger and their resolutions keep increasing. On my 15-inch laptop with 1400-by-1050 pixel resolution, it’s almost impossible to read text. Desktop-style LCD screens also have the same problems.

A simple hack will make text easier to read on both laptops and LCD screens; use Microsoft’s ClearType technology, built into XP. To enable ClearType, right-click on the Desktop and choose Properties. Select Appearance → Effects. The Effects dialog box appears. Check the box next to “Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts.” Select ClearType from the drop-down box, click OK, then click OK again. You’ll notice the difference in how type is displayed.

You can use ClearType on a normal desktop PC monitor as well as a laptop, but I don’t recommend it. On a normal monitor, it makes text appear blurry, and people have complained that using it gives them headaches. I’ve tried it and can vouch for that—headaches quickly ensue.

One problem with ClearType is that XP doesn’t offer ...