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• Post #3576642

  Many major graphics/publishing apps have missed the boat with their user interface choices for variable fonts. Given the ongoing steady growth of variable font usage and availability, it seems worth fixing things. The biggest problem, and the easiest one to fix, is lacking ongoing access to axis settings while working with text. Other issues include… https://www.thomasphinney.com/2026/07/variable-font-ui-is-broken/

• Post #2250088

  The Chrome browser on Android, Linux and ChromeOS now does all its web font processing using a Rust-based library (Skrifa) instead of its old C++ library (FreeType). This is part of a general trend. If you look at open jobs by programming language required, Rust is now #7 (up from #10 last time I looked). C++ and C# are declining drastically, Python, SQL, Java, and JavaScript/TypeScript are the top 5 and all growing rapidly. (Golang is #6, and also growing similarly to Rust.)

• Post #1735650

  Variable fonts have a proposed new mechanism, a version 2 update to the AVAR table, to allow variable fonts to fence off unusable portions of the designspace, and otherwise distort the mappings. About AVAR2: https://type.today/en/journal/avar For the bleeding-edge font folks… @lorp has a new tool for experimentally testing and modifying variable font AVAR2 mappings with interactive live visual output. You can drag mappings around AND then export the modified font! Wow. https://github.com/lorp/...

• Post #1460737

  Just want to say that I am massively in favor of more and stronger controls on firearms, and also believe that attempts to censor and control 3D printing (beyond making 3D printing of guns and fun parts illegal, which it already is in most states looking to impose proactive controls) such as California’s A.B. 2047, will both not stop all 3D printing of guns, AND make things worse for the average user. Locking users into only using printer drivers supplied by their printer manufacturer and outla...

• Post #1272419

  When I was just getting serious about type design and typography VERY MANY people were helpful to me, took me seriously, and gave me useful feedback, advice, critiques, introductions to other folks... everything, really. If you don’t know me well or even at all, but are at ATypI next month or TypeCon in August, and could benefit from any of that, OR even just want to say hello, or chat about the talks, or whatever — please introduce yourself! (I do not bite and am largely house-trained, I prom...

• Post #1048015

  AI-generated bug reports & fixes suddenly went from junk to legit, says Linux kernel maintainer: https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/26/greg_kroahhartman_ai_kernel/

• Post #1048014

  RE: https://typo.social/@fontra/116335608735338250 Loose .exe works fine for me, but I get how a Windows installer would help the average user, for sure. Anybody?

• Post #1048013

  This is a great explanation of some key factors about how to do AI “vibe coding” better… or worse. https://bramcohen.com/p/the-cult-of-vibe-coding-is-insane

• Post #1048012

  RE: https://hachyderm.io/@evacide/116359242872244038 It is a travesty that this person did not get jail time.

• Post #1048009

  The past week has been a horrifying crush of massive font dev work, which would have been a total nightmare if not for the fact that the client point person has been shockingly reasonable and very aware of the workload involved.