I used to disregard this for the same reasons you are disregarding it. But at some point I realized that (a) I prefer big font sizes (~13 pt regardless of with

I used to disregard this for the same reasons you are disregarding it. But at some point I realized that (a) I prefer big font sizes (~13 pt regardless of with/without glasses) (b) I like to have two columns of code next to each other. (c) IDEs love to cramp up my work space with vertical side bars. All that conspires to put horizontal space at a premium. I usually go for 80 chars now. Some languages are more verbose than others though. Cocoa at 80 chars just looks wrong, so in that case, I will take 100 chars. Addendum: (d) Vim sucks at horizontal scrolling.