Mac users’ Internet experience to remain "seamless" thanks to Microsoft

Mac users will continue to see the Internet as it was intended, thanks to the renewal of a font licensing agreement between Microsoft and Apple.

At TypeCon2007 Microsoft and Apple announced they have renewed their font licensing agreement, giving Apple users ongoing use of the latest versions of Microsoft Windows core fonts.

Back in 1996 Microsoft started the “Core fonts for the Web” initiative. The idea of this initiative was to create a a standard pack of fonts that would be present on all or most computers, allowing web pages to be displayed consistently on different computers. While the project was terminated in 2002, some of the fonts defined as core fonts for the web have gone on to become known as “web safe fonts”., and are therefore widely used by Internet developers.

Under the agreement, Apple and Microsoft are extending the “seamless” Web and software experience Apple users have enjoyed for years when using and viewing Microsoft fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial and Verdana.

According to the two companies, Apple customers, developers and Web designers can safely specify fonts knowing that their documents, presentations and Web pages will appear as they are meant to be seen on screen and in print.

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