There were several attempts to come up with a next-generation digital font format in the 1990s. Why did OpenType (mostly) succeed where GX/AAT and multiple masters did not? Thomas explores the factors that caused GX and MM to fail in the marketplace, and explains why OpenType didn’t suffer the same fate thanks to a combination of accidents of birth, and lessons painfully learned from the previous format battles. Corporate alliances, attention to support and workflows, openness, and tireless evangelism all played their parts.
