Mastodawn

No one expects the QuickDraw GX inquisition. #MARCHintosh

John Parker 3d ago

@billgoats There was a great QuickDraw GX font called Jam I used to love - a sort of worn typewriter effect.

I think I converted it into a plain TrueType font using Fontographer or one of the dev tools at the time, but even if I did, the only backup is on a Zip disk, and I’ve no Zip drive.

There’s now an exciting quest that lies ahead of me in terms of tracking down lots of obscure software and emulators - the grand prize being, in retrospect, what transpires to be a rather mundane font. 🤔

Grant Hutchinson

@middaparka @billgoats Jam was designed by Erik van Blokland (@letterror) and was known for its implementation of GX variations. It currently lives on in the form of the variable typeface “Neither Confirm Nor Deny”.

https://letterror.com/ncnd/

LTR NCND: Neither Confirm Nor Deny! A smoothly interpolating, textured variable font. at LettError.com

A smoothly interpolating textures variable font

Grant Hutchinson 3d ago

@middaparka @billgoats A bit more backstory on the NCND FAQ page:

https://letterror.com/ncnd/faq.html

LTR NCND: Neither Confirm Nor Deny! Frequently Asked Questions. at LettError.com

A smoothly interpolating textured variable font

@splorp @middaparka @billgoats I think I have a copy of Jam somewhere if you want. GX was great and way ahead of anything else at the time. It did some things that even the current variable fonts can’t reach.

John Parker 2d ago

@letterror That would be amazing. Otherwise, I fear I’ll have to find a means of reading this bad-boy, if indeed it’s not succumbed to bitrot.

Damn, seeing it again in that Vimeo video takes me back.

NCND looks stunning as well. 🙌

Grant Hutchinson 2d ago

@middaparka @letterror Hey John … I have the means to read and recover Zip disks, if you need help with that.

John Parker 2d ago

@splorp @letterror That’s very kind, but I’m in the UK - even if it currently works, I suspect that might not be the case by the time it arrives.

Still, it could be worse - it could be a SyQuest. 😃

I think I’ll see if I can pick-up a USB Zip drive locally, if only out of curiosity.

Grant Hutchinson 2d ago

@middaparka Yes, that would be a bit of a trek to Canada for a poor little Zip disk.

(By the way, I can also handle Syquest, SyJet, SuperDisk, Bernoulli, and Jaz.)

John Parker 2d ago

@splorp Damn - that’s pretty much the full set. 🫡

Grant Hutchinson 2d ago

@middaparka I’m still trying to find a couple of formats … like a phase-change dual (PD) drive.

John Parker 2d ago

@splorp Don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those outside of the pages of a computer magazine.

In the unlikely event I bump into one with a voltage selectable PSU I’ll grab it for you though. 👍

Grant Hutchinson 2d ago

@middaparka I always appreciate another set of eyes out there.

Christian Kent 𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥1d ago

@middaparka @letterror A Zip disk — in all its original prenatal cocoon!!

Christian Kent 𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥1d ago

@letterror @splorp @middaparka @billgoats I was about to bring that up — surely the original font is pushing beyond the limits of our current technology

But now I’m thinking of the “San Francisco” font announcement a few WWDCs ago, and the plethora variant sizes and weights built into a single face & file … and wondering:

Have we eclipsed TrueType GX yet?

Christian Kent 𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥1d ago

@letterror @splorp @middaparka @billgoats (if not, I think it may be time for a Super Specification to at least describe, if not implement, all the abilities … last year I did a deep dive into the Windows 2.x vector fonts, which nobody remembers let alone implements anymore …)

Then there’s the more basic specs like “how do we spec that a bitmap font is supposed to be 2:1 aspect ratio?” I do love the Apple Shaston font, for being a loving implementation to be aesthetic in spite of the cruel limitations of 200-line video from the days of non-interlaced SD CRT video. It’s a better solution than the 5 minutes spent designing the CGA font, for example.

Grant Hutchinson 1d ago

@whophd You mind find this project of interest.

https://github.com/robhagemans/hoard-of-bitfonts

GitHub - robhagemans/hoard-of-bitfonts: turns out I like bitmap fonts

turns out I like bitmap fonts. Contribute to robhagemans/hoard-of-bitfonts development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub

Christian Kent 𝘊𝘒 :＼﹥1d ago

@splorp @middaparka @billgoats @letterror That’s a wild toot with a Cc’d namedrop and that’s the nicest type of experience here 🥰

@splorp @middaparka @billgoats @letterror

I have always known this font as “Trixie”, and this article seems to confirm that.

https://eyemagazine.com/blog/post/variable-grunge

or is “Jam” part of the ‘corporate machinations’?

Eye Magazine | Blog | Variable grunge

Eye Magazine

@axel @splorp @middaparka @billgoats Trixie was first. Then I made Jam for an Apple workshop with their GX tools (around 1993). This needed new outlines and a different name as Apple wanted to include it with their developers tools. FontShop then sold Trixie for many years. Then when Monotype bought FontShop in 2014 they also acquired the trademark. When I could finally terminate the contract in 2023, Monotype offered to sell the trademark back at an incredibly inflated rate. Which I could not afford. So now it is called “Neither Confirm Nor Deny” as that is the official answer to the question “is this Trixie”.

@letterror @splorp @middaparka @billgoats

Thanks for responding personally Erik!