Fonts/Apple, Adobe and Netscape

[Sfauthor at aol.com]

I ran across this the other day. Of course, it will be some time before we
hold the phal in our hands. . .

------------------------------

The following JOINT release was moved over the wire by Adobe on Monday,
February 26, 1996.

Adobe, Apple and Netscape to Collaborate on New Internet Font Technology

Collaboration to Establish the Standard For High-Quality, High-Performance
Fonts on the Web; Companies to Submit Proposal to Industry Standards
Organizations


    MOUNTAIN VIEW, California--February 26, 1996--Adobe Systems Incorporated,
Apple Computer, Inc., and Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: ADBE,
AAPL, NSCP) today announced that they will work together to define and
deliver HTML extensions for type on the Web. The three companies expect to
provide an open, cross-platform technology solution for using Type 1 and
TrueType fonts in HTML and PDF documents.
    This new Web font technology marks a significant advance in the visual
appeal of Internet information. People viewing information on the Internet
will benefit from a rich font assortment on a page with excellent
performance.
People creating information for the Web will be able to choose from numerous
fonts and ensure that users see their pages as they were originally intended
to be seen.
    With Adobe's long-standing leadership in developing digital type,
Netscape's leadership in open Internet software, and Apple's font expertise
as the inventors of TrueType, users will benefit from:

 --Anti-aliased type for higher screen quality for both large and small type
sizes

 --Embedded, compressed fonts for fast performance over 14.4 kilobit/second
modem connections and font fidelity

 --Progressively rendered fonts which enable the screen to display text
immediately

 --Font subsetting which improves performance because only the characters
needed will be downloaded.

    This new Web font technology exploits technology already under
development as part of Adobe's Acrobat "Amber" Plug-in for Netscape
Navigator. The new font technology will be supported in the next version of
"Amber," and later this year in Netscape Navigator client software. Apple
bundles Adobe Acrobat and Netscape Navigator with the Apple Internet
Connection Kit and the Apple Internet Server Solution.
    The companies plan a submission of this technology to the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C) and Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a proposed
extension to HTML. The new Web font technology will be usable by style sheet
designs such as the one the W3C is developing for HTML 3.0.
    "This new Web font technology adds dramatic new dimensions to the
Internet experience enabling Netscape users to view and create pages with new
richness," said Dr. James Clark, chairman and founder of Netscape. "This
marks a collective effort by the industry to evolve type and content on the
Internet and we are pleased to be collaborating with world leaders in font
technology."
    "By working closely with Netscape and Apple, we intend to bring to the
Internet the kind of visually compelling information users have come to
expect in other media, such as print publications and CD-ROMs," said John
Warnock, chairman and CEO of Adobe. "This effort marries well with Adobe's
current strategy to make electronic publishing a graphically rich and
rewarding experience for both authors and consumers."
    "Apple was involved in introducing to the market the two most pervasive
font formats: Adobe's Type 1 and our own TrueType," said Dr. Gilbert Amelio,
chairman and CEO of Apple. "Working with Netscape and Adobe, we intend to
adapt these technologies to the World Wide Web, a medium which is growing
rapidly in importance to the customers we serve. Apple's goal is to bring the
ease of use and multimedia richness for which the Macintosh is known to the
emerging Internet platform."