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Amazon's Thin Helvetica Syndrome: Font Anorexia vs. Kindle Readability (teleread.com)

David Rothman writes: The Thin Helvetica Syndrome arises from the latest Kindle upgrade and has made e-books less readable for some. In the past, e-book-lovers who needed more perceived-contrast between text and background could find at least partial relief in Helvetica because the font was heavy by Kindle standards. But now some users complain that the 5.7.2 upgrade actually made Helvetica thinner. Of course, the real cure would be an all-text bold option for people who need it, or even a way to adjust font weight, a feature of Kobo devices. But Amazon stubbornly keeps ignoring user pleas even though the cost of adding either feature would be minimal. Isn't this supposed to be a customer-centric company?

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  1. How to fix it by tlambert · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    How to fix it:

    "Open a book, magazine or other document on the Kindle. Press the “Menu” button on the bottom of the device. The text size options are displayed with the current size underlined. Press the right arrow on the 5-way controller to increase the font size."

    There, fixed, unless you are being an ass about how many character there are horizontally and vertically as well.

    If you need the "large print edition" of something, quit trying to pretend your are not getting old, or that you eyes are better than they actually are, and give in to the "usability for humans with sub-par ocular hardware" settings, and be done with it.