ClearType reduces eye fatigue

Ten years ago, in the epoch of flickering 640 x 480 screens, conscientious proofreaders would print out their texts and work on paper. Errors that were invisible on the screen seemed to jump out from the page. But printing involved an extra step. It was tempting to be lazy.

Now, screens have improved. Most people review text on the screen directly to save time and benefit from improved tools for spell checking, revision tracking, glossaries and so on. But eye fatigue is still a factor, and may have suddenly worsened thanks to flat LCD screens, which sharpen the edges around each pixel and render type with a choppier look than did the old CRT screens.

To solve all that, Microsoft has released a great little tool especially useful for flat screens, the ClearType Tuner. According to the download page: "This PowerToy lets you use ClearType technology to make it easier to read text on your screen, and installs in the Control Panel for easy access." (Windows XP only.)

Give it a try. The result is frankly luxurious, a whole lot easier on the eyes. You'll feel like you paid an extra couple of hundred bucks for your display.
Here's an example with ClearType on the left and standard type on the right.