Long before Apple introduced anti-aliased text into the Mac OS with version 8.5, Greg Landweber had devised a control panel with a similar function, SmoothType. Yet SmoothType and Mac OS 8.5 produce noticeably different results from their anti-aliasing efforts.
Mac OS 8.5's anti-aliasing (accessed through the Appearance control panel) keeps text looking bold while rounding the rough edges. SmoothType, in contrast, tries to more accurately reproduce the appearance of a printed page, thus resulting in on-screen text that's curvier but less bold.
SmoothType offers two anti-aliasing methods, 4-bit (16 greys) and 2-bit (4 greys); the latter being geared for slower machines. Yet compared with Mac OS 8.5 SmoothType is still slower, especially on the higher quality setting, even on a G3. The lower quality setting is faster and slightly bolder, but letters often end up appearing poorly spaced or sometimes oddly shaped. At larger sizes the differences between Mac OS 8.5 and SmoothType are less noticeable.
SmoothType offers an alternative to Mac OS 8.5's anti-aliasing or, if you're using an older system, adds that feature to it. Between 8.5 and SmoothType the preference for anti-aliased text varies from user to user but it's worth taking SmoothType for a spin. -MS
