Microsoft Typography Withdraws Free Web Fonts

jonadab writes: "Microsoft Typography has for years provided a set of very nice True-Type fonts for free-as-in-without-monetary-cost, including the excellent Andale Mono (the only scalable fixed-width font I really like). They are gone. Here is the Microsoft page where they formerly were, which now tersely explains that they're not available any longer. There is an article about this on extremetech. According to the article, Microsoft says the withdrawal of the fonts at about the same time as the LinuxWorld is coincidence. The article also references a Debian package that has been removed from the distro because of this. If I understand my rumours correctly, it was a package that downloaded the fonts from MS, displayed their EULA, and allowed the user to extract and install the fonts. It was possible to do the same thing using other distros. Guess it's time for the OSS people to make some decent-looking scalable both-screen-and-printer fonts (preferably TrueType). At minimum, we need nice-looking serif proportional (to replace Verdana), a sans proportional (to replace Georgia), and a mostly-sans fixed (to replace Andale Mono), all with good language support. This should have been done a long time ago, since the MS fonts were, albeit $0, not licensed in an open fashion. We always knew we were relying on MS Typography's generosity, and that these could disappear at any time. But now the need is more urgent."

Comments

Freeloading linux wankers unite!

[mveloso]

Geez, it's amusing how many comments here blast MS on the one hand, then bitch that MS removed its free fonts (that the same critics were using).

It just goes to show how ridiculous Linux advocates really are. Chhhhumpolas!

(Slap) I'm a user (Slap) I'm a developer (Slap) I'm a user (Slap) I'm a developer (Slap) I'm a user and a developer!

Actually you are betraying ..

[Snaller]

... your ignorance.

>The technocrats argue that "making fonts can't
>be that hard" and "just whip some out in the
>Gimp", betraying their ignorance.

Most people don't give a damn about all that. They don't want thousands of fonts all of whom have been lovingly hand crafted by gifted people who spend many years slaving over the curliques of every little nook and cranny on the letters.

One font is enough - and how hard can that be ;)

Its not flamebait you twit moderator.

[Snaller]

Its fact.