After finally getting the bold version last week, the Ubuntu font which will be default in Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Meerkat is finally available for (almost) everyone. Why almost? Here is an email from the Kubuntu-users mailing list:
Members of the ~kubuntu-users team on launchpad can now test out the Ubuntu Font which is currently in beta testing. Anyone can join this team.
We are considering setting this as the default screen font in 10.10, opinions welcome but please include a rationale with your opinion, artwork is very easy to criticize but is hard to criticize well.
Important: only join this group if you are willing to provide genuine feedback! Also: most people will be accepted into this group. If you have just created a Launchpad account and/or have 0 karma however, it might take a while until you're accepted.
Update: the mail on the Kubuntu mailing list also mentions that the Ubuntu font looks great with Auto Hinting, which you can enable using the following command:
sudo ln -sf /etc/fonts/conf.avail/10-autohint.conf /etc/fonts/conf.d/
Then log out and log back in.
Here is how the new Ubuntu font looks on the desktop, with auto hinting and antialiasing for "best contrast" and "subpixel smoothing":
Also read:
- Instructions and Rationale: http://design.canonical.com/2010/07/the-ubuntu-font/
- Font testing tool and bug submission: http://fonttest.design.canonical.com/
- We've started to add non-Latin character languages to help test the font, please see here: http://design.canonical.com/2010/07/native-readers-extending-the-beta/
Update: you can now install the Ubuntu Font Family from a public PPA.