DSL Ideas and Suggestions :: Firefox fonts could be easier to read by default

Hi Robert (see, I know it's going to be you who might look at this),

I'm using DSL in two very distinct ways.

1) I'm using it as traditional HD install on my old laptop.

2) I'm using it under virtualization to do my online banking in a secure environment.

In the first instance, I have total control over what I do, so I change my Firefox settings and they persist and I am happy.

In the second scenario, I run DSL without any peripheral storage attached (no hard-drives, no usb-keys). In this case, I rely on the system as-is from the LiveCD ISO.

I've found it very difficult to read the font that was chosen for default in Firefox 1.0 bundled in the ISO. It can get very small in some cases and the serifs make it very hard to distinguish between numbers (and banking is all about numbers).

Would it be acceptable with everyone if we changed three settings in the Firefox fonts? Here is what I propose:

Changing Serif to Sans-Serif... and all three font sizes to 12.

Many thanks,
John

Hi!

The easiest thing you could do for now is to press Ctrl and + at the same time when using firefox. This will increase the font size.

Have fun,
meo

Yup, I know that already. Or I can take 15 seconds longer and set the fonts to be more readable every time I use DSL LiveCD for my banking... but this doesn`t improve the product.

I was reading that Firefox was tuned to be as small as possible... would setting these font values in the Firefox configuration file make the distribution any bigger?... i.e. is there already a config file or will this spawn one?

Thanks,
John

There is no config file by default, FF will create it.

You could make an extension or a backup with your FF settings?

Good suggestion but it still means that I can't run the LiveCD without being sure it's not tainted by something in a backup file.

I'd like to be able to run vanilla from the LiveCD, see my banking information clearly and shutdown the machine without thinking about an exit process when I'm done.

I believe the process I described would only require that I rely on the security of the contents of the LiveCD which I trust are being monitored by Robert and John.

I hit the power-off button the PC... my info gets cleared out of RAM... perfect!

I know that one of the advertised uses for DSL is such a secure scenario and I'd like to see it improved please.

To further enhance the scenario, I would really like to see the Firefox icon reappear on the desktop. One of the most helpful things that I found when I started using DSL were the big, beautiful icons on the desktop. Having the applications immediately available to me made discovering the OS and it's applications very, very pleasant. Now that I know it better, I can live without them (although I really, really miss them). If you want to attract new users, you really need to offer up palette of icons as is done in the 3.4 line. Add a cheat code to strip them off for advanced users who don't want them... but please realize how much they helped your intention of attracting Windows users if this is still important to you. And if it is, please relabel them so that they don't seem foreign... relabel Siag -> spreadsheet, relabel xZGV -> 'image viewer', relabel Sylpheed -> email (my god that looks like Syphilis). Over time, the literati will discover the true names and access the programs from their own way, but Windows users are more accustomed to a more consistent look and feel.

With respect,
A DSL convert,
John

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