Mac vs. Windows: Anti-aliasing

When choosing fonts, it’s worth noting that how they look differs on Mac and Windows. By
default, Macs anti-alias onscreen text, which affects spacing—in fact, various anti-aliasing
algorithms can make text look slightly different in each browser. On Windows, aliased text
has historically made for jagged edges, but Internet Explorer 7 smoothes type via the fontsmoothing
technology ClearType, introduced in Windows XP (disabled by default in XP, but
enabled in Vista system-wide).
For body copy, font-smoothing (or not) isn’t a major problem—although some prefer
aliased text and some prefer anti-aliased, both are fine, as long as the font size is large
enough. However, when it comes to rendering large text—such as for headings—aliased
text is significantly less visually pleasing.

**Aliased text is a simplified version of the original font, reduced to a black-and-white
bitmap. Anti-aliased text attempts to emulate the soft curves of the original font by
introducing gray or colored pixels at the edges.

Although arguments rage regarding which is the best method of displaying fonts onscreen,
this is a moot point for web designers, because you don’t control the end user’s setup and
therefore must be aware of each possibility.