Agreed, I don't know what the author is smoking. But then, there's no accounting for taste.

I also use Vera Mono in emacs, and like it a lot. I really feel for the poor folks still using courier (which-way-does-that-quote-go-and-is-that-a-curly-or-paren?) as a code font.

To be fair, though, the linked font is a bitmap, not a vector font. So maybe a better comparison might be to the X11 9x15 or 10x20 fonts, both of which I spent years staring at and like very much.

In the past when the only displays I had access to were relatively low-res (1280x1024) I used ProFont a lot. It's a good font, didn't become bothersome after hours of Emacs work.

But, I use Consolas now on Windows.

I used to love Bitstream Vera Mono. It's pretty nice.

Although, recently I've switched to Liberation Mono as my monospace weapon of choice.. I'd certainly recommend it.

I use Liberation Mono on Linux, but Consolas on Windows. I've found that the different platforms don't display each other's fonts as nicely.

Totally, and if you use Textmate (for ruby), the theme used in Railscasts is the ultimate theme if you ask me:

http://railscasts.com/about

Looks amazing with Bitstream Vera Sans Mono!