Expanded font handling in HTML 5

Hello,

 

One of the continuing frustrations with HTML, is the minimal font support
provided.

I was hoping that in HTML 5, there would be an option to allow fonts
(OpenType?) to be available

to be downloaded into a cache on the local machine, if it is not present in
the local installation. 

That way, the font would only have to be downloaded once.

The download could be an optional selection so a person could decide not to
download the font.

I recognize that there are licensing issues with fonts, so perhaps there
could be a repository of 

public domain fonts web developers could draw upon. I also wonder if a
licensing model could be set up

so a company could license a font from a foundary for web use. CSS would
have to be expanded to have a

property for a font that contained a key based on the font name, foundary
and web site it was licensed for.

That way companies could build their sites with a more customized look,
while protecting the  

intellectual rights of the foundaries and providing them a new revenue
stream. 

Of course, fonts rights (and code) could be donated to the repository by
anyone building fonts.

At the very least, I'd like to see W3C provide a recommended list of fonts
to be included in

all operating systems to provide a richer internet experience, and start to
allow some real

typography appear online. 

 

Thank You

Mark Schnegg

Wenmark, Inc.

mms@wenmark.com