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> No matter what operating system you're on, you'll eventually run into an application that doesn't render in high dpi mode. It might depend on the program, to
by zzo38computer 6y ago
> No matter what operating system you're on, you'll eventually run into an application that doesn't render in high dpi mode.
It might depend on the program, too. Some might only work in pixels. Fortunately, it is usually not a problem if you are trying to run a program designed for Gameboy; the emulator should be able to scale it automatically, subject to the user setting. I don't know if any X server has a setting to magnify mouse cursor shapes, but it seems like it should be possible to implement in the X server. Also, it seems like SDL 1.x has no environment variable to magnify the image. My own program Free Hero Mesh (which I have not worked on in a while, because I am working on other stuff) allows icons to be of any size up to 255x255 pixels (the puzzle set can contain icons of any square size up to 255x255, and may have multiple sizes; it will try to find the best size based on the user setting, using integer scaling to grow them if necessary), but currently is limited to a single built-in 8x8 font for text. If someone ports it to a library that does allow zooming, then that might help, too. However, it is not really designed for high DPI displays, and it might not be changed unless someone with a high DPI display wants to use it and modifies the program to support a user option for scaling text too (and possibly also scaling icons to a bigger size than 255x255) (then I might merge their changes, possibly).
Still, I don't need 4K. The size I have is fine, but unfortunately too many things use big text; some web pages zoom text by viewport size, which I hate, and a bigger monitor would then just make it worse.
- bitwize 6y agoWhat X server? You should be using Wayland. X does not intrinsically support automatic scaling. Wayland does.
- zzo38computer 6y agoThe protocol is irrelevant. It isn't an extension to the protocol, and would not be seen by clients. It is an implementation detail.
- bitwize 6y agoTechnically, that's true, but "Wayland is inherently better at security/DPI scaling/other" is one of those cultural myths that eventually come true because of the people who believe in it. It would be possible to add these improvements to the X server, but no one wants to maintain or improve the X server anymore. All the developer effort is behind Wayland. So to get those benefits, you have to use Wayland.
- Wowfunhappy 6y ago> some web pages zoom text by viewport size, which I hate, and a bigger monitor would then just make it worse. Not that it excuses bad UX, but you might consider keeping your browser window at something below full width. I find this more comfortable anyway. Total aside: I've noticed Windows and Linux users tend to keep their windows fully maximized, whereas Mac users don't. Doesn't apply to everyone of course, but enough to be noticed. This was true even before Apple changed the behavior of the green Zoom button, and I've always wondered why.
- bityard 6y ago> I've noticed Windows and Linux users tend to keep their windows fully maximized Interesting, I've noticed the exact opposite. Mac devs, especially younger ones, tend to have full-screen IDEs and browsers and constantly flick back and forth between apps. My theory was always that Windows and Linux users had gotten comfortable with the desktop metaphor while a large percentage of newer Mac users grew up using iPads which were all full-screen, all the time.
- Wowfunhappy 6y agoQuick note I perhaps should have clarified, I wasn't thinking about the Mac's "full screen mode". This was something I noticed about other students in my high school a decade ago (why it's coming to mind now, I have no idea), before full screen mode existed on Mac. It used to be that if you clicked the green button on Mac, most apps (not all apps, for weird aqua-UI reasons, but certainly web browsers) would grow to fill the screen without outright hiding the menu bar and dock, just like the maximize button on Windows.
- stormbrew 6y agoMy experience pre-full screen on macs was that the green button would do just about any random thing except make the window fill the screen. It would certainly change, usually it would fill vertically (but not always) but almost never horizontally. To this day I still rarely press that button because of years of it doing nothing but unpredictable nonsense.