- From: Brad Chase <brad_chase@met.bitstream.com>
- Date: Mon, 12 Aug 96 10:10:53 edt
- To: www-font@w3.org
Erik van Blokland wrote:
> I can't repeat this often enough: of course outline fonts are better
> for many applications, but current formats are just not safe
> enough for online use.
The problem is not in the font format per se, but in the handling of it.
Mechanisms exist now for protecting the downloaded font files from being
copied and rendering/installing the fonts so that only the installing
application can access them. (The current W3C font draft encourages the
use of these measures.) The weak link in the chain is the downloading
process itself.
The use of subsets will certainly act as a detriment to copying font
files, though a determined individual could certainly assemble any entire
font from a sufficiently large set of fragments. (OTOH, the universe of
individuals willing to invest that much time instead of their money is
fairly small.) Stronger protection mechanisms, such as encrypted
transmission, are under discussion in the W3C font work group.
I think the use of scaleable fonts for web pages is inevitable. They are
entirely too useful in a world where display devices have a variety of
output resolutions. (And don't forget, while many bitmaps assume square
pixels, there are output devices that have RECTANGULAR pixels.) Your help
in making them work reliably while protecting designers would be very
valuable.
Brad Chase
Product Manager
Bitstream Inc.
Received on Monday, 12 August 1996 10:52:47 UTC