Increase default font size across all applications?

I just got a new Macbook with a 15.4 inch 1400x900 screen resolution, and I am finding that the text on screen is really tiny in most cases (on the Apple menu it is fine).
Even some buttons are tiny.
Is there any way to increase the text size systemwide? Since the GUI is PDF based, it ought to scale well, right?
I don't want to lower the resolution, because I naturally want to keep the sharpness.

Hi, eobet.
There's no way of doing this through the Mac OS X GUI itself. However, the freeware application TinkerTool permits you to "set nine categories of default fonts used in Cocoa applications." This permits you to change the font used and its size.
This facility employs hidden settings within Mac OS X, so it's a bit of a hack and should be used with caution and at your own risk.
The graphical elements of the GUI, such as the buttons you cite, cannot be changed other than by lowering the resolution.
For the visually impaired, Mac OS X offers a Zoom option in System Preferences > Universal Access > Seeing. This permits one to magnify a portion of the screen to the full width of the screen.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

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