CompuServe Messages

"$300 is NOT cheap if you've already purchased the fonts when you bought your laserwriter." Well, Look at it this way: The "Plus Pack" fonts, if purchased separately, would run $885 (retail). Yes, the very same fonts are built into the ROM of your PostScript LaserWriter, but you did not "purchase" them per se…you paid for the _rights_ to use them _on a specific printer_, namely the LaserWriter itself. This is the same license agreement that binds every other Adobe downloadable PS font – the agreement makes no arrangements regarding other devices/imageing software. Now, I don't want to get into a long discussion of copyright law and software licensing; I'm just pointing out what Adobe's stated postition has been. When you bought your LaserWriter, you paid an extra $1000 or so for POSTSCRIPT…not only for the fonts, but for the functionality, speed, compatibility, etc. Noboby has taken that away from you (or anyone else). But the Macintosh display is a completely different device, and the ability to image fonts on it is a whole different situation. Add to this the fact that ATM and the "Plus Pack" will give you the ability to print to non-PostScript printers, and $300 is a lot less. As for "waiting for System 7.0", this _probably_ won't help you much. Nobody is sure that System 7.0's "Royal" fonts will be completely compatible with PostScript — sure, there will be some sort of conversion, but the character widths may change, font naming/numbering problems may arise, etc, etc. Besides, even though System 7.0 will be "cheap" (or free), Apple has stated that they "will NOT be in the font business" (they expect OTHERS to create the fonts), and who knows how many "Royal" outline fonts they will release with the System (or what what they will cost if they don't). No self-respecting typeface manufacturer is going to GIVE their outlines away. -Scott Leyes