In a hard push for more market share, Google has just released a new Beta of their Chrome browser along with 300 extensions.
Web Fonts Are Finally On
Of particular interest on the readability front is that the new Beta supports web font linking to TTF/OTF files by default – available to all users. Until now, Chrome was the straggler in the @font-face parade. Previous versions kept its web fonts capability as a hidden feature which required launching Chrome with the “–enable-remote-fonts” command-line switch. Thus restricting that feature to professional-level, special-interest users.
But that’s history. Starting with this version of Chrome and onward, every major browser now supports @font-face web font linking: Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Internet Explorer, and Safari.
A Milestone In Typography
While it will still take some months yet for the latest versions of these browsers to reach the great majority of users, as they do so, the history of typography turns a corner. The biggest change right now is a change in expectations: the ability to display fonts of the author’s choice is now an expected feature.
The bar has been raised and a significant milestone has been reached.
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