I used to work with the typography team at Microsoft (say what you will about MS, but they've invested a fair amount of money into readability -- sadly, not all

I used to work with the typography team at Microsoft (say what you will about MS, but they've invested a fair amount of money into readability -- sadly, not all of that work has made it into their products). The general thinking there was as follows: - In print, serif is more readable - Traditional computer screens didn't have the resolution to display subtle serifs, and sans-serifs typically looked better / were more readable - With higher-resolution monitors and ClearType (and similar sub-pixel technologies), you're getting closer to the point where having serifs can make a difference - However, a big part of reading speed has to do with familiarity. At this point most computer literate people have spent far more time reading sans-serif fonts on screen, which can skew results toward sans-serif. (edit: apparently, i'm too retarded to know how to make lists on HN. where art thou, markdown?)