To everyone saying CSS3 webfonts are anathema to good sense and usability:
As engineers, we're sensitized to performance implications[0]; the added value of not using Arial is a more difficult thing to quantify. Many businesses perceive that value to be significant - behaving as if it doesn't exist isn't useful or pragmatic.
Still, on mobile you'd have to be completely insane to incur download time and latency x2 for the CSS and font files before showing any text. If you need it that badly, take the hit and force a FOUC ("flash" in this case a misnomer). When reading HN on the go I frequently wish CSS had never been invented.
Most desktop sites though can happily get away with a bit of bling type. I'd wager no one would notice if they were more careful with what they show prior to the font loading (hiding the bullets from lists, for example). In the battle between web performance and web functionality, the onus is as always on making intelligent conscious choices that represent the right tradeoffs for your objectives.
As engineers, we're sensitized to performance implications[0]; the added value of not using Arial is a more difficult thing to quantify. Many businesses perceive that value to be significant - behaving as if it doesn't exist isn't useful or pragmatic.
Still, on mobile you'd have to be completely insane to incur download time and latency x2 for the CSS and font files before showing any text. If you need it that badly, take the hit and force a FOUC ("flash" in this case a misnomer). When reading HN on the go I frequently wish CSS had never been invented.
Most desktop sites though can happily get away with a bit of bling type. I'd wager no one would notice if they were more careful with what they show prior to the font loading (hiding the bullets from lists, for example). In the battle between web performance and web functionality, the onus is as always on making intelligent conscious choices that represent the right tradeoffs for your objectives.
[0] http://at.cantl.in/nerd-stuff/2012/11/29/fast-page-start.htm...