Netscape to support portable fonts in Communicator

Netscape has licensed Bitstream Inc.’s TrueDoc font compression and portability technology for use in Communicator. TrueDoc “records” the color and shapes of any font in an HTML document and allows the characters to be redisplayed, or “replayed”, on any PC, network computer, or PDA that supports the technology. Fonts retain their original look and feel, and will display properly even if the user doesn’t have the font installed on his/her computer. The technology is also aimed at very small devices (like PDAs) and very large devices (like TV sets).

Expect the technology in the next public beta of Communicator. Bitstream will also provide Netscape with TrueType fonts, Postscript fonts, and special Bitstream fonts that were created for the Web