I believe you're misinformed. "Nikon (produced the first optical stabilized lens, a 38-105 mm f/4-7.8 zoom built into the Nikon Zoom 700VR (US: Zoom-Touch 105 VR) camera in 1994)" (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibration_reduction).
My understanding is that Nikon invented in-lens vibration reduction for use in their scopes. Canon licensed the technology from Nikon, and while Nikon was the first to sell a camera with the technology, Canon made it more ubiquitous and popularized it. (Sigma got sued for copying Nikon's designs.)
Today, I don't think anyone but a fanboy would claim that Canon's image stabilization is significantly better than Nikon's. I would note that Tamron's is well regarded too.
Actually, Verdana has nothing to do with Geneva.
Here's some additional info. about Verdana (and Tahoma, in that Tahoma was once named "Verdana Narrow"):
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/css/gallery/sp ec1.htm
Microsoft's new Verdana typeface family consists of four TrueType fonts created specifically to address the challenges of on-screen display. Designed by world renowned type designer Matthew Carter, and hand-hinted by leading hinting expert, Monotype's Tom Rickner, these sans serif fonts are unique examples of type design for the computer screen.
The Design of Verdana
In its proportions and stroke weight, the Verdana family resembles sans serifs such as Frutiger, and Johnston's typeface for the London Underground. But to label Verdana a humanist face is to ignore the successful fusion of form and function Carter has achieved. This isn't merely a revival of classical elegance and savoir faire; this is type designed for the medium of screen.
The Verdana fonts are stripped of features redundant when applied to the screen. They exhibit new characteristics, derived from the pixel rather than the pen, the brush or the chisel. The balance between straight, curve and diagonal has been meticulously tuned to ensure that the pixel patterns at small sizes are pleasing, clear and legible. Commonly confused characters, such as the lowercase i j l, the upercase I J L and the number 1, have been carefully drawn for maximum individuality - an important characteristic of fonts designed for on-screen use. And the various weights have been designed to create sufficient contrast from one another ensuring, for example, that the bold font is heavy enough even at sizes as small as 8 ppem.
Another reason for the legibility of these fonts on the screen is their generous width and spacing. At low resolutions, because of the limited number of pixels, letters cannot differ very much. But often the smallest differences can often change the whole look of a page, or a screenful of type
Georgia and Verdana are very unlike any of the other fonts you listed there. Both were designed specifically to be legible on a low resolution monitor and are not intended for the printed page.
For example, Georgia and Verdana have much larger x-heights than the other fonts, along with thicker stroke widths, more spacing between letters and words, and wider characters.
Georgia and Verdana are great fonts for their intended purpose. The other MS fonts, I agree, are cheap knock-offs.
Slashdot Mirror
I believe you're misinformed. "Nikon (produced the first optical stabilized lens, a 38-105 mm f/4-7.8 zoom built into the Nikon Zoom 700VR (US: Zoom-Touch 105 VR) camera in 1994)" (Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibration_reduction). My understanding is that Nikon invented in-lens vibration reduction for use in their scopes. Canon licensed the technology from Nikon, and while Nikon was the first to sell a camera with the technology, Canon made it more ubiquitous and popularized it. (Sigma got sued for copying Nikon's designs.) Today, I don't think anyone but a fanboy would claim that Canon's image stabilization is significantly better than Nikon's. I would note that Tamron's is well regarded too.
Actually, Verdana has nothing to do with Geneva. Here's some additional info. about Verdana (and Tahoma, in that Tahoma was once named "Verdana Narrow"): http://www.microsoft.com/typography/css/gallery/sp ec1.htm
Microsoft's new Verdana typeface family consists of four TrueType fonts created specifically to address the challenges of on-screen display. Designed by world renowned type designer Matthew Carter, and hand-hinted by leading hinting expert, Monotype's Tom Rickner, these sans serif fonts are unique examples of type design for the computer screen.
The Design of Verdana
In its proportions and stroke weight, the Verdana family resembles sans serifs such as Frutiger, and Johnston's typeface for the London Underground. But to label Verdana a humanist face is to ignore the successful fusion of form and function Carter has achieved. This isn't merely a revival of classical elegance and savoir faire; this is type designed for the medium of screen.
The Verdana fonts are stripped of features redundant when applied to the screen. They exhibit new characteristics, derived from the pixel rather than the pen, the brush or the chisel. The balance between straight, curve and diagonal has been meticulously tuned to ensure that the pixel patterns at small sizes are pleasing, clear and legible. Commonly confused characters, such as the lowercase i j l, the upercase I J L and the number 1, have been carefully drawn for maximum individuality - an important characteristic of fonts designed for on-screen use. And the various weights have been designed to create sufficient contrast from one another ensuring, for example, that the bold font is heavy enough even at sizes as small as 8 ppem.
Another reason for the legibility of these fonts on the screen is their generous width and spacing. At low resolutions, because of the limited number of pixels, letters cannot differ very much. But often the smallest differences can often change the whole look of a page, or a screenful of type
Georgia and Verdana are very unlike any of the other fonts you listed there. Both were designed specifically to be legible on a low resolution monitor and are not intended for the printed page. For example, Georgia and Verdana have much larger x-heights than the other fonts, along with thicker stroke widths, more spacing between letters and words, and wider characters. Georgia and Verdana are great fonts for their intended purpose. The other MS fonts, I agree, are cheap knock-offs.