Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Domains

Domain: agfamonotype.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to agfamonotype.com.

Comments · 4

  1. Met no metric by fm6 · · Score: 3, Interesting · on Microsoft Typography Withdraws Free Web Fonts
    Didn't know you could determine that everyone who needed them already had them. Interesting. I'd like to see the metric used to determine that.
    Well, yeah that's patently absurd, especially since the fonts were meant for web developers, not end users. MS wasn't just being generous -- they wanted people to write web pages with embedded fonts, thus increasing users' dependence on Internet Explorer. So they commissioned a bunch of fonts that emphasized on-screen usability, as opposed to the print-only or print-and-screen usability of most fonts.

    It's true that Andalé Mono is very good fixed-width font. I particularly like the way it makes it hard to confuse l with 1, 0 with O, etc. And yes, it scales very well. The first thing I do when configuring any app that uses fixed with fonts -- Xterm, console text editors, IDEs, web browsers -- is to replace the usual Courier or system font with Andalé Mono. Which is not all what MS intended, and mostly illegal. Imagine my dismay!

    One quibble with this font is that multiple underbars form a continuous line, which makes source code slightly harder to read. I keep looking for a free font that lacks this problem. But that mostly means amateur efforts, which rarely scale well.

    Microsoft may be less a culprit here than AGFA and the other companies that licensed these fonts to them. AGFA charges 22 bucks for each download of Andalé Mono, and no doubt they licensed the font with the understanding that it'd only be used for specific purposes. When it became clear that everybody and anybody was downloading these fonts for all kinds of purposes, MS either had to pony up more licensing fees, or withdraw the fonts. Hardly suprising they did the latter.

  2. AGFA's own website inconsistent by IronJohn · · Score: 2, Insightful · on Font Company Wielding DMCA Against Bit-Flipping

    I found this on the agfamonotype website:

    There are four levels of embedding with TrueType and OpenType font data. These levels are set by the font developer, and written into the font data. The user cannot change the embedding level. [my emphasis]

    Is it possible that AGFA's VP of Marketing, believing his own communications department got overly excited about a program that does something that cannot be done?

    Kudos to Tom7 for not only standing up to these guys, but in doing so by beating them at their own game with a well-researched, thoughtful rebuttal argument. Perhaps if more people stood up to "official and forceful" sounding lawyer's letters, fewer of these things would end up in court and we could bleed the lawyers a little of their ill-gotten fees.

  3. Here is mine... (Re: Let AGFA know how you feel!) by geoswan · · Score: 2 · on Font Company Wielding DMCA Against Bit-Flipping
    They have a web form you can fil out here:

    I recently read about your harrassment of Tom Murphy, the young graphic designer at Carnegei Mellon University.

    Frankly the attempts of large companies to usurp the rights of the rest of us disgusting.

    Let me strongly urge you to issue a full, public apology to Mr Murphy.

  4. Let AGFA Monotype know how you feel! by NanoGator · · Score: 5, Interesting · on Font Company Wielding DMCA Against Bit-Flipping

    They have a web form you can fil out here:

    AGFA's Web form.

    When they get bombarded with emails, they'll know that they're under the public eye. If this goes to court, I may be willing to donate a few dollars to assist ith legal fees.