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BUG: All fonts lost hinting after upgrading "freetype"

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dolphin_oracle
Developer
Posts: 19831
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2007 1:17 pm

Re: BUG: All fonts lost hinting after upgrading "freetype"

#11 Post by dolphin_oracle »

Stevo wrote: Sun May 13, 2018 5:57 pm Is this a bug actually observed by anyone with the newer libfreetype6 running MX 17? If not, I would change the title of the first post to something like "Questions about the libfreetype6 update in testing".

I'm running an up to date MX17.1 (no test repo enabled, and not much installed from test), and I can tell you that the issue does not appear with the libfreetype6 in the default installation. My hinting works just fine.
http://www.youtube.com/runwiththedolphin
lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme Gen 4 - MX-23
FYI: mx "test" repo is not the same thing as debian testing repo.

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dreamer
Posts: 738
Joined: Sun Oct 15, 2017 11:34 am

Re: BUG: All fonts lost hinting after upgrading "freetype"

#12 Post by dreamer »

I wrote this because if MX Linux gains users (which it seems to be doing) there will be more tension between conservative and progressive users. MX developers can continue to make a decision on a case by case basis what should be put into the main repo and what shouldn't. That has worked well so far. IF MX Linux wants to expand beyond "this is a really good/polished and useful distro" more software flexibility is needed. People complain about the Ubuntu PPA system, but it gives Ubuntu users a choice between baseline LTS packages and newer software, be it newer DEs or newer versions of their favorite apps.

I wasn't writing from a perspective that I know what is best for MX Linux, because I don't know what is best for MX Linux. I was writing from the perspective of a former Ubuntu/Linux Mint user who appreciated the flexibility of the PPA system. I will continue to use MX Linux and when new software is pushed to main repo I will just install it even though I wouldn't have installed it on an Ubuntu LTS base (new versions of Xfce, LibreOffice, Gimp etc.).

MX Linux is climbing the Distrowatch popularity ranking. As I see it the future pain points will be related to new software. When LibreOffice 6.x or 7 is pushed to main repo some users will rejoice and some users will complain that their settings have been changed and that their workflow has been interrupted because the new version doesn't support their old fonts etc. We saw that with the last LO upgrade and I think it is going to be a recurring theme.

I would like to see more software flexibility, but even if nothing changes I feel good about having brought up this subject. Now I have done my "duty". MX Linux is a "fully working OS" which is pretty rare these days so thank you for that. :popcorn:
dolphin_oracle wrote:
Stevo wrote: Sun May 13, 2018 5:57 pm Is this a bug actually observed by anyone with the newer libfreetype6 running MX 17? If not, I would change the title of the first post to something like "Questions about the libfreetype6 update in testing".

I'm running an up to date MX17.1 (no test repo enabled, and not much installed from test), and I can tell you that the issue does not appear with the libfreetype6 in the default installation. My hinting works just fine.
@Stevo: Title seems wrong. And OP just disappeared....

@dolphin_oracle: If you want to find out this is how I would do it. I haven't done this myself, because I'm happy with my fonts as they are. The change in TrueType rendering is related to freetype 2.8 (Buster package). The affected package is in the test repo:

libfreetype6 (2.6.3-3.2) to 2.8.1-2~mx17+1

You would have to install that package from the test repo. But before you do that choose a TrueType font and apply it to your system. Take a screenshot. Then upgrade freetype from 2.6 to 2.8 and reboot (maybe). Look at your TrueType system font and take a screenshot. Compare the screenshots. That's how I would do it.

The screenshots are supposed to look different because a new setting was applied to freetype 2.8 TrueType rendering. Is it better or worse? That's always debatable. Many people thought it was worse and that is what the launchpad "bug" is about. A solution has been found for those who think the new freetype is worse than the old.

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Richard
Posts: 1577
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2008 10:31 am

Re: BUG: All fonts lost hinting after upgrading "freetype"

#13 Post by Richard »

@dreamer and the MX Linux Community,

I have been using and watching MX Linux since a few days after the first official MX-14 release. It was a diamond in the rough but everything I needed was working. The response from the developers, testers, maintainers, moderators, etal, was refreshing.

I agree with dreamer that more success will bring more users who want this great new distro to become more like Linuxmint, like the 'buntus, like Manjaro, like Windows, like Mac, and still be a small friendly distro. I see the pressure for perfection in the forum this year like nothing before. Clamor for MX Linux to be what the some users envision as the next good idea.

I think MX needs a manifesto.
A statement of intent. A declaration of principles. This must come from the leaders, developers, moderators, testers, etal.
It must set goals, aims, desires, limits and define what will be the plan going forward. My belief is that such a document will bring focus to the community and shared goals to pursue. I also believe that it will provide a basis for consensus to deal with the diverse situations that are arising and will arise in the future. And it should be made public!

I see much more tension in the forum than over the previous years: 2014, 2015, 2016. As more and more users discover that MX uses SysV init (with systemd-shim even though they may not understand what it is or does), that the maintainers port newer apps onto the solid Debian base, and that the forum is helpful and friendly. Problems seem to arise from new arrivals who think that because it is "free libre open source software" that the distro has to do what they envision. I believe that the real meaning of FLOSS is that you are welcome to join in to help achieve your goals along with the general goals of the community of the distro, and the goals of the distro are the primary goals.

The distro is not a democracy. At best it is a benevolent dictatorship, governed by a small cadre of leaders who will be benefited by the presence of a clear, concise statement of the aims of the distro. Written, posted and read by all. It will provide a guideline for development, growth and future goals. It will give new arrivals a clear view of the distro apart from the software. It should be a solid basis for resolving confrontations and maintaining a sane growth rate. We have no profit incentive to invest more money in order to become perfect, sooner.

In the words of some accomplished planners,
Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
Sir Winston Churchill is credited with another, oft repeated, saying:
“Those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.”
man·i·fes·to
ˌmanəˈfestō noun
a public declaration of policy and aims, especially one issued before an election by a political party or candidate.
synonyms: policy statement, mission statement, platform, (little) red book, program, declaration, proclamation, pronouncement, announcement

Some guidelines:
http://www.alexandrafranzen.com/2015/12/31/manifesto/
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/grammarl ... 75496.html
and some food for thought:
https://blog.storagecraft.com/why-users ... migration/

tl;dr
Well, these are some thoughts on creating a plan for the future.
If such a plan exists, then it should be published in a pdf and linked for all to read.
I believe that our present growth rate is fine.
Does it cost much more to have 1000 downloads per month or 10000 or 100000?
What is the cost of support? The forums? Then guidelines for support?

Things to decide:
1. Do we really want to be everything for everybody?
2. What do we want to be?
3. Where will the people come from to build the common vision?
4. How to have everyone read the manifesto? Keep it concise.
Thinkpad T430 & Dell Latitude E7450, both with MX-21.3.1
kernal 5.10.0-26-amd64 x86_64; Xfce-4.18.0; 8 GB RAM
Intel Core i5-3380M, Graphics, Audio, Video; & SSDs.

User avatar
Gordon Cooper
Posts: 965
Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2011 5:50 pm

Re: BUG: All fonts lost hinting after upgrading "freetype"

#14 Post by Gordon Cooper »

Dreamer and Richard, many thanks for your thoughts. I too have noticed an increase in user demands (near belligerence?) since the year that I started with MX-14. The facts are that MX is free and has a friendly forum with a very knowledgeable team of experts, ready to help. Regrettably, some seem to be taking undue advantage of this amicable system. I have concerns about the distro's future, many of them have already been stated in this thread. A major concern is the small size of the experts team. Certainly few of the recent recruits to the forum are now turning their knowledge and experience towards helping the newcomers, but would volunteers alone be able to cope with the amount of support needed if the MX community had an exponential increase in size?

One answer (a pause to don my hard hat) could be to release MX with a set of applications, including some options such as are provided in the Package Installer, and only
provide official support for these. Should a users wish to embellish their computers to make them look/behave like what they used before coming to MX, then such additions should be the users concern. Certainly other users may offer assistance, but the Dev team and the packagers should not feel that they are obliged to help.
Any additions to the provided set of applications could, if worthy, be included in the next release of MX.
Backup: Dell9010, MX-19_B2, Win7, 120 SSD, WD 232GIB HD, 4GB RAM
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MX-18.2 64bit. Also MX17, Kubuntu14.04 & Puppy 6.3.

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