Microsoft withdraws free web fonts

I first saw this story over on OSNews, and now over on ExtremeTech.

Microsoft withdrew its free TrueType Web fonts on the eve of LinuxWorld, leaving some Linux advocates upset about the decision. Microsoft, however, said the fonts were being "abused".

The TrueType fonts, once available on a Microsoft web page, were apparently pulled on the 12th August, the first day of the LinuxWorld show. It was unclear which Linux distributions would be affected by Microsoft's decision, although a representative of the Debian GNU/Linux organization said it had withdrawn a TrueType font package from its distribution.

In a statement, a spokesman for Microsoft said that the company withdrew the free fonts for several reasons. "Most users who wanted the fonts have downloaded them already," a company spokesman wrote in an email to ExtremeTech. "They ship with recent OS's - Windows XP and Mac OS (via Internet Explorer). Microsoft has also found that the downloads were being abused - repackaged, modified and shipped with commercial products in violation of the EULA [licensing agreement]."

Isn't Google, it's cache and filemirrors.com really good... :) Just the thing for locating "lost and lonely" files... :D

News source: ExtremeTech