> If I was still doing COBOL, I'd argue for monospace...

Heh heh, last time I wrote any COBOL we were still using dumb terminals connected to a mainframe and nobody had ever heard of a "font". You got what the terminal gave you, period. I sure wouldn't want to go back to those days, but in a way, it was simpler then.

>I downloaded Consolas, but it won't install unless I have VS 2005.

Right, it's not intended as a stand-alone download, but if you want to use it I think all it takes is to install one of the free VS2005 Express editions.