I’m hoping someone will share with me their strategy for dealing with how small the various menu items, buttons, and mouse-over tool tips are on a 1920x1080 monitor. My monitor is a Dell 21.5 inch widescreen running on Windows 7.
 
For my normal workday stuff, I run my monitor at 150% magnification to make it easier on my eyes. However, I learned a short while ago on this board that the magnification interferes with the cursor’s ability to properly click on things in the Sonar GUI. So I’ve reduced it to the display default size of 100% -- no magnification. The GUI then works fine, but the various items, buttons and mouse over tool tips are really small and I can’t see them very well.
 
The strategy I’m trying now might take some getting used to, as it can be a bit cumbersome, slowing down the creative process and creating its own little set of frustrations in working with the interface. I go to start menu/all programs/accessories/ease of access/magnifier. The magnifier allows you to, among other things, magnify a user-defined window wherever you point your mouse. So, for example, if I mouse over the transport controls, the magnifying window blows just that small section of the monitor screen up a certain percentage, making the controls easier to see/use.
 
One thing I’m wondering is if I step up to a 23-inch monitor at 1920 X 1080, will the GUI buttons etc. get any larger, so I won't have to use the magnifier?  I’d try that, if so.
 
Would love to hear how anyone else is dealing with this issue. Maybe the thing to do is just to get a big ol’ pair of coke-bottle computer glasses!
 
Thanks for any ideas, suggestions, feedback. It’s really helpful!
 
 

Increasing the size of the display will help as long as the resolution stays the same.  In other words, on a 27" 1920 x1080 display, icons glyphs and such will be physically larger than they are on a 21" 1920x1080 display.
 
I'm not sure going from 21.5" to 23" will gain much readability.  That's ~7%.  Going to 27" would be ~25%.
 
 

Or change your resolution.

There have also been threads about using the default Windows Magnifier on the cursor location.
 
Also, beware of eye fatigue from monitors, it is good practice to take a short break each hour. Get up, walk around, look at things far way, etc.

Thanks for all the input. I'm working with a 24-inch monitor at 1080x1920 and it seems to be doing the trick for me. It's actually a Visio 24" HDTV I'm down-streaming (repurposing).