Comment by chrisguilbeau

Comment by chrisguilbeau a day ago

27 replies

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I've been using a comic sans based mono font now since the last time I saw it on HN (about a year ago based on my receipt). I use a paid version called Comic Code [1]

I find it very easy to read as well as fun. I had similar feelings about using Monaco in the past. I find it personally makes programming easier on the eyes and enjoyable.

I remember reading the font is similar to the letters that are taught in kindergarten which is a theory of why it's easy on the eyes.

[1] https://tosche.net/fonts/comic-code

jrmg a day ago

To my eyes, especially at small sizes, Comic Code has way more ‘Courier’ to it than Comic Mono.

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  • card_zero a day ago

    If you look at screenshot #5, the text is the same size as the text the page is written in, yet looks very different. No slab serifs on 'r' or 'n', and a less quirky 'y' and 'k'. So now I don't know if the page is written in the font it's talking about, or some other font. Confusing.

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    • LeonidasXIV a day ago

      According to my browsers dev-tools the text on the page is Dossier[0], which happens to be a font by the same author. I admit I also first thought that it would be set in the font its trying to demonstrate.

      [0]: https://www.tosche.net/fonts/dossier

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  • rob74 a day ago

    Yeah, it's different enough to avoid triggering my Comic Sans allergy, but OTOH at least Comic Sans has a clear purpose (comic-style lettering), while this sits in the middle between Comic Sans and a "typewriter-like" font (Courier), and I somehow can't imagine a typewriter with this font...

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graemep a day ago

> I remember reading the font is similar to the letters that are taught in kindergarten which is a theory of why it's easy on the eyes.

I know some people find it easier to read, but that explanation does not seem right to me. For one thing are kids not taught to read using printed materials? I taught my kids to read using whole words - flash cards and then "look and say" books and those did not use fonts anything like this.

I personally find it hard to read and it slows me down slightly. I wonder whether some people benefit from being slowed down? Maybe making their eye movements more deliberate or efficient?

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  • PawgerZ 18 hours ago

    I believe they mean similar to the fonts when you're learning the alphabet, not when you're learning to read. Like those books where you trace "A" ten times then "a" 10 times then "B" and so on.

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adastra22 a day ago

Another Comic Code user here, although I only bought it because I didn't know about these free alternatives which look just as good. It seriously reduces eyestrain and makes me more efficient. First thing I install on any new computer!

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strunz a day ago

I really like his Codelia font; but I just can't justify spending that much on a font when there's so many free alternatives. Wish the was a cheaper non-commercial license.

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  • groby_b a day ago

    $15.50 for something you use every moment of your working life?

    It's not that much.

    It's fine to use free versions instead, but maybe let's stop asking for freebies from folks who make their living that way, especially from Indy folks. (Badger your average megacorp for free stuff for all you want, they'll find ways to extract money somehow)

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    • Eezee a day ago

      You need at the very least 4 of those $15.50 fonts to cover italic and bold.

      If I could get the entire font family for $30 or so I would consider it despite all the free alternatives, but $150 is just way too much if you are making a non-US salary.

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      • brantonb a day ago

        There is a “Comic Code Coding Essentials“ bundle for $30, licensed for up to 5 users. Unfortunately, it’s at the very bottom of the page so it’s easy to miss.

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      • groby_b 15 hours ago

        I suppose I'm the last person alive to just use plain text. So, yes, sorry for that omission.

        The full collection is $100. At average European salaries, that's (at worst) half a day of work. Not unnoticeable, but if you care about your tools, not an amount that's entirely unreasonable. The coding family is, as you say, $30 - 90 minutes of work.

        Beyond US, Europe, and other affluent countries, yes, it gets somewhat unaffordable. I don't have a good answer here. But I don't think asking indy folks to fix global inequality is the right answer, either. They need to live too.

        Some choose to release their fonts for free (Monaspace, Comic Mono, Inconsolata...), but that's a choice they made for themselves. They ultimately decided it was affordable for them to do that. And that's great!

        But I really have a problem with complaining about people who are trying to make a living, demanding they give away their work. One because it's somewhat entitled ("I deserve to get your work for free"), and two because it's a large part of what discourages indy work. Something our industry sorely needs.

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    • bmitc a day ago

      That's actually insanely cheap for a font as well.

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    • e40 a day ago

      $30 is the bundle that seems minimally useful. Does it work on all OSes?

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      • happymellon a day ago

        > Font formats

        > .OTF, .TTF, .WOFF, .WOFF2

        Hopefully your OS of choice supports one of those.

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        • unplug8224 a day ago

          Font creators once again treating TempleOS users like they don't exist? Color me shocked.

          Jokes aside, this is the only font I've ever paid for, and I use it for all my text editing across Linux/MacOS/Windows with no issues.

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    • fsckboy a day ago

      >$15.50 for something you use every moment of your working life?

      $16 to upgrade my life? well worth it. $16 to own something that I'd need to carry around for the rest of my life in a file, or track a download code for, and configure into every new system I boot up, and... nah, that's buying a responsibility

      creatives out there: you are using and benefitting from the free open source internet where other creatives gave away their work product free. Stop trying to monetize your tiny contributions.

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      • ghssds a day ago

        True. The only ethical way to obtain money is by working for a corporation. Corporations are the only entities that legitimately can sell anything.

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        • monban a day ago

          As the common saying goes, no ethical consumption without capitalism!

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      • creata a day ago

        > Stop trying to monetize your tiny contributions.

        If you think they're not worth it then just click away.

        And syncing a file isn't exactly hard in 2024.

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awkward a day ago

One similarity it has with fonts specifically designed to counter dyslexia is that every character looks different. The handwritten look introduces more cues for the reader to pick up on than a more precise font.

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cubefox a day ago

The font used in the text of the linked piece is different (significantly worse) from the one in the picture at the top.

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rootforce a day ago

This is cool. I unironically use comic mono as my daily driver. It helps me remember to have fun.

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mstade a day ago

I first saw this when I was on a screen sharing session with a client, and couldn't help but ask – is that... is that comic sans?

Turns out he was also using Comic Code, and he basically had the same feelings as you towards it. I thought what the heck why not, and gave it a go. Now I'm hooked as well, for the very same reasons.

Coding, somehow, is just more fun and enjoyable now. Moreover, it's probably one of the more legible fonts I've ever used. Didn't expect that!

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