I'm running KDE on (K)Ubuntu Gutsy (7.10) and here's the problem. I start KWrite and GEdit, and configure them to use the exact same font. However, the two applications render the same font very very differently. Check out these screenshots to see what I mean.
KWrite with Inconsolata 11pt, 96 dpi
GEdit with Inconsolata 11pt, 96 dpi
Dear lazy web, if any of you know how to get KDE and GNOME to render fonts in the same way, please let me know. I have made sure both KDE and GNOME are rendering fonts using the same DPI. I have tried with other fonts as well with similar results. I've always had issues with fonts rendering differently in GNOME and KDE, so this really isn't a distribution specific problem.
Update (11/01/07 2pm PST)
Some useful links I discovered after writing this post:
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November 1st, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Abhijit Nadgouda
Diwaker, can you check if the gtk-qt-engine is installed? Not sure if this will solve the font problem, but it did help me get a better unified experience.
I have also enabled autohint for fonts. I am Arch Linux so did it by editing .fonts.conf, I think Kubuntu has a GUI for it.
November 2nd, 2007 at 11:39 am
Nitin Gupta
Could this have something to do with LCD pixel smoothing?
November 5th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Diwaker Gupta
I don’t think so — pixel smoothing (or font hinting) only affects the rendering of the font on screen, specially anti-aliasic. But it doesn’t change the geometry or the DPI.
November 5th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Diwaker Gupta
*@abhijit*: Yep, it’s installed. It certainly helps but there is still a marked difference in font rendering. I have auto hinting enabled as well, but it doesn’t help with font sizes.