Embedded fonts
In the mid-1990s, there were concerted efforts made by
Microsoft and Bitstream (partnered with Netscape) to develop embedded font
technologies. With embedded fonts , a separate file containing the necessary character
set for the document is provided with the HTML document via the
link element.
Not surprisingly, at the height of the Browser Wars, there was no spirit of cooperation in the embedded font field, so the result was two competing and incompatible embedded font technologies. Microsoft’s Embedded Open Type worked only on Internet Explorer on Windows. Bitstream (a font design company) created TrueDoc Dynamic fonts that were initially supported by Netscape 4, but then dropped in Gecko-based Netscape 6. Bitstream has since thrown in the towel on TrueDoc technology for the Web due to lack of browser support. For now, embedded fonts are largely an ignored technology.
For information on Embedded Open Type, see http://www.microsoft.com/typography/web/embedding/default.aspx. For information on Bitstream’s TrueDoc technology, see http://www.truedoc.com.
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