I remember an old saying. Beware if you lie down with dogs as you could wake up with fleas.
Ampers
Microsoft sponsors new Web font standard
Summary
With a surprise boost from Microsoft, the promise of rich typography on the Web just got a big step closer to reality.
Topics
With a surprise boost from Microsoft, the promise of rich typography on the Web just got a big step closer to reality.
The software company's involvement emerged Monday with sponsorship of a newer effort at the World Wide Web Consortium to standardize Web-based fonts with technology called the Web Open Font Format (WOFF). It's a fresh indicator of Microsoft's serious engagement with new Web standards--and it's a big boost for designers' attempts to stretch the Web beyond just the few typefaces that today can be expected to be already installed on people's computers.
It's not unusual to see Mozilla and Opera Software as WOFF backers--the two browser makers have been trying to advance the Web state of the art for years. But after years of going its own way, Microsoft has shown new interest in Web standards and now is a powerful ally that's sponsoring the submission of WOFF to be a W3C standard.
"Given the increasing interest in WOFF from browser implementors, tool creators, and type foundries [it] is expected that WOFF will soon serve as that single, interoperable format and that other implementors will add support over time," the W3C's WebFonts Working Group said of the move.
For more on this story, read Microsoft sponsors new Web font standard on CNET News.
Talkback Most Recent of 8 Talkback(s)
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ampers@...21st Apr 2010 -
And there it is
I was thinking about responding sarcastically to this article, describing how for may people Microsoft's endorsement would automatically be a "kiss of death". My sarcasm would be anti-climatic at this point.
Carl Rapson
rapson21st Apr 2010 -
Please NO Comic Sans!!
Spare us all, leave comic sans for myspace only.
bpunk8821st Apr 2010 -
Wolfie2K321st Apr 2010 -
RE: Microsoft sponsors new Web font standard
It is a good start. But with caution. They have a habit of agreeing with standards but then implementing them in a unique way. Just make sure to close all loop holes first! Take documents for example. They say they are going to implement odf and odt, the open standard for document standards. They purposely save parts of the file formatting in a different place than everyone else which makes their documents format differently in other OS's.
Let's hope they are getting tired of fooling people this time.
It would be nice if MS does really get behind open standards instead of just talk about them.
lrfocke
Louis Ross Focke21st Apr 2010 -
Proposed new fonts
Tragic Sans
Velveeta Bold
I Shot the Serif
Trans Script
Baloney Bold
Courier & Ives
Dingleberry Script
Dave@...21st Apr 2010 -
magallanes22nd Apr 2010 -
fantozzi25th Apr 2010
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