Re: Current Downloadable Font Status....

Brad Chase wrote at 25/8/97 8:56 pm

>Clive Bruton wrote:
>
>> TrueDoc may be a font rendering technology (ie it has its own TrueType
>> and Type 1 rasterisers),
>> but PFRs are fonts, they are referenced and used *exactly* as fonts.
>
>TrueDoc does not incorporate TrueType or Type1 rasterizers. It has a
>rasterizer for it's own platform neutral data format. 

Then I've been misled by the copious misinformation that abounds on the 
web.

>And you are right,
>the PFRs do work like fonts, but only for viewing, and only when
>referenced from a location created by someone with the original font.

I don't see this as a mitigating argument against the abuse of copyright 
that TrueDoc perpetrates. At the end of the day type was designed to be 
viewed, print (as screen) is just a method of getting it to the enduser. 
The rights aof the type designer have been infringed without his/her 
permission and without the safeguard of a blocking mechanism.

I'd also note that there is no way to trace the original owner of the 
font, prove from where/whose type the PFR was derived or that they had a 
valid licence to use the font in such a way.

>
>> Looks in this case that the X represents the "Qu" glyph in Bernhard
>> Modern Ext (expert set?), which you're failing to load for some
>> reason, and I can't see at all since I'm using Navigator 3.01.
>
>Clive- I would really like to encourage you to get Communicator and take
>a look at the latest TrueDoc output. 

Been there, done that, found the ways to get someone else's type from 
their servers onto my pages. Not impressed - especially by the type 
examples used.

>We implemented a *lot* of
>enhancements in version 2.4 which was released earlier this year (and is
>the version used in Communicator). Any demo you saw prior to April was
>the previous version (and one infamous demo was actually based on the
>version before _that_.)

I never saw the "infamous demo", I have hacked I font out of TrueDoc, I 
do know that TrueDoc has applications wider than "non-fonts" in 
Communicator.

If you really want to improve it you should start talking to the people 
whose work you're using to sell your proprietory system.

>
>We are committed to providing the best possible output, amd have put
>considerable effort into improving the output quality in the last 12-18
>months. We will continue to enhance the product in the future, and value
>suggestions for future improvements.

Fine, in which case we'll see you at ATypI to discuss the issues 
(www.atypi.org). In fact you can maybe opt to discuss it "virtually", if 
all goes to plan we'll have an online forum.


-- Clive

Received on Tuesday, 26 August 1997 12:19:10 UTC