How can I make Ubuntu Firefox render webpages similar to Windows/Mac Firefox?

Question

I just installed Ubuntu as my core operating system and am having a bit of a panic.. Is there any strategy for making the fonts/browser defaults for browsers (and the OS in general) render similarly to Windows Vista or Mac OSX? I'm afraid accurate web design work in this environment will be total guess work..

Answer 1

Firefox renders indeed fonts differently in Linux/Ubuntu, because Microsoft TrueType fonts are missing, and because default font settings are different. Try to install Microsoft TrueType fonts (Arial, Trebuchet MS) with

sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer

Then adjust the font settings in Firefox, i.e. open up Firefox, select

Edit >> Preferences >> Content >> Fonts & Colors - Advanced 

The following ubuntu font settings are described here and work for me:

Fonts for: Western
Proportional: Serif, Size 16
Serif: Times New Roman
Sans-serif: Arial
Monospace: Courier New, Size 12