Mac Users Retain Use Of Core Windows Fonts

A terse, unsexy announcement with broad ramifications for cross-platform applications

(Via Manage This) One very recent announcement at this years TypeCon was the extension of the Microsoft-Apple font license agreement. The press release (here at Apple, here at Microsoft) summarizes thus:

Microsoft Corp. and Apple today announced that they have renewed their font licensing agreement, giving Apple users ongoing use of the latest versions of core Windows fonts. Under the agreement, Apple and Microsoft are extending the seamless Web and software experience Apple users have enjoyed for years when using and viewing popular Microsoft fonts such as Times New Roman, Arial and Verdana. 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.

The upshot is that Macophiles will continue have licensed access to fonts that tend to get used a lot by web designers from the bush leagues on up, for whatever reason, which are also popular in word processing applications.

The gist of the importance of this is nimbly summed up by Extensis’ Kelly Guimont, who put it this way: