This is a really dumb tip, but I've done it and I'm happy, so I thought I'd share.

When a web site doesn't specify the font that IE (or FireFox, for that matter) should use to render it, the browser falls back on some defaults. For IE it's Times New Roman and Courier New (depending on the type of font it needs to display).

Internet Explorer gives you the ability to change those default fonts. You do so by opening your Internet Options (via Control Panel, or using Tools|Internet Options from within IE), then clicking the "Fonts" button on the bottom of the first tab. Everyone's always been able to do this, but let's face it - who does?

Well, I did.

I set them like this:

Webpage font: Cambria
Plain text font: Consolas

These are two new fonts that come with Vista and Office 2007.

Now all those old web sites look fresh and modern!

Like I said, it's a dumb tip, but it made me happy. Why not try it?