How to install OpenType fonts in LaTeX

How to install OpenType fonts in LaTeX: "LaTeX is the best typesetting system in the world and OpenType (.otf) fonts are some of the best in the world, but installing fonts in general is difficult in LaTeX. It eluded me for several years but now I've succeeded. (For the record, I use PDFeLaTeX in the MikTeX distribution with TeXnicCenter, but this should not make much difference.) Here's how:"