Found the perfect resolution for 16x9 screen

[PDP-8]

Roberts was right - if you want the standard UI to be normal and not teeny-weeny, lower your resolution. 

Simple right - just edit your /dev/mmcblk0p1/config.txt file as root.

Problem: I am using a modern 16x9 screen, BUT the TC ui was really designed around a 4x3 format.  BUT, for modern screens, using the old vga resolutions was not producing the desired output, and endless tweaking of higher resolutions was not making me happy.

Cut to the chase - IF you want the classic ui sizing, which was based upon 4x3, AND your modern 16:9 screen supports 480p, then choose a resolution for "4x3 Widescreen" aka 480p Widescreen.  Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/480p

For me, that became 864x480 in my config.txt file.  Initially I started out with 853.33x480, but after a reboot, and looking at the fbset command, it rounded up to 864, so I tweaked config.txt again for 864

NOW the classic look of all the TC/Picore apps looks how they were supposed to.

To top it off, when I drop to the commandline with ctrl-alt-f1, and do an ls -a to see the pretty bash colors, they are crisp and clean, not mushy.  Aterm - better, but not totally crisp.

I'm doing general computing with my Pi, and not trying to turn it into an HDTV.  This smaller resolution looks *great* for general computing.

[Misalf]

Changing the default font for most apps is a thing that helps me a lot in terms of getting what's on the screen. I like "Terminus" (though, sometimes bold text doesn't work on small font sizes) but I don't like to read the standard "Fixed" after I've seen pretty much any other font for some time. Also I pretty much always prefer bitmap fonts (except "Fixed").

[PDP-8]

Yep - but it was that configurability that was doggin me...at least as far as usability of the wBAR utilities and applications.

I could set things like xfce4-terminal up with fonts and default geometries I really liked at high or vga-like low screen resolutions, but wBAR would suffer greatly.

Until I set my resolution to a 4x3 *widescreen* of 864x480, (or 853.33 as per the spec) all my other attempts either rendered the wBAR utilities miniscule, or so large that things like System Stats was just blown off the screen and no way to exit other than dropping to a cli, and killing the process.

So it's a stretched 4x3 in a 16x9 format.   Fortunately, the aspect is just fine.

I want it all, with robert's native look, because I really like the wBAR utils and applications, and this 4x3wide setup blew the doors open.

[Rich]

Hi PDP-8

... or so large that things like System Stats was just blown off the screen and no way to exit other than dropping to a cli, and killing the process.

If a window is bigger than the screen, try hitting  Ctrl-Alt-M  a couple of times.

[PDP-8]

Heh, I found that out later.  Kind of like xfce4-terminal options - you can set them but if the settings window is too large, an escape will get you out and retain the settings.

It all hinges on getting the native cli font right for me before going into X.  The system font seems to hinge on a 4x3 format, so the 480p/wide, or 864x480 edited in my config.txt file filled the screen perfectly and native cli fonts are beautifully clean and legible, even with colored text.  So much so that I added the multivt option to the boot stanza.  No settings on the monitor itself were changed.

Moving into X, the wBAR and included utils seems to rely on the system font, and are designed for a 4x3 or perhaps the older vga 640x480 standard.  Ok cool - on a 16:9 screen that can do 480p, then the 864x480 resolution makes the wBAR stuff operate as designed.  Clean and legible, proper sizing of fonts, sliders, default geometries, etc.

I think I understand why aterm is a little finicky about changing fonts.  It too relies upon the standard system font, and changing it would bring chaos in extensions that rely on it - like the htop extension.  Clicking the icon version, rather than pulling it up in a terminal yourself, would totally break if the system font wasn't more or less locked down.  I think.

Anyway, I'm not trying to nitpick PiCore / TC.  The more I work with it, the more I love it, not just for being tiny, but by being *smart* about resources.  The unix ethos I suppose.  And if I don't like something, I've got the tools to do something about it.

At this point my OpenBSD buddies would tell me to just "shut up and code."