Freetype, included in the font stack on Unix, is quite complex. There are so many layers to get it to do what it does that it's easy to get lost. From finding the font, to actually rendering it, and everything in between. Like most of the world, I use a rather low screens definition (1366x768 with 96 dpi) and rather old-ish laptop, unlike s.
MyJournals.org - Science - Remote Sensing, Vol. 15, Pages 3198: Shoreline Analysis and Extraction Tool (SAET): A New Tool for the Automatic Extraction of Satellite-Derived Shorelines with Subpixel Accuracy (Remote Sensing)