diff --git a/lectures/preamble.tex b/lectures/preamble.tex
index bcab9eb..dd1c028 100644
--- a/lectures/preamble.tex
+++ b/lectures/preamble.tex
@@ -10,8 +10,9 @@
 \usepackage{hhline}
 \usepackage{texpower} % options added via \PassOptionsToPackage in driver files
 \usepackage[T1]{fontenc} % needed for getting rid of smart quotes in code
-\usepackage{courier} % redefines \ttfamily to courier for code
+\usepackage[scaled]{beramono} % code font
 \usepackage{textcomp} % needed for getting rid of smart quotes in code
+\usepackage[protrusion=true,expansion=true]{microtype}
 \usepackage{listings}
 
 
@@ -27,11 +28,11 @@
 \renewcommand{\sliderightmargin}{5mm}
 
 
-%%% source code highlighting %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+%%% source code highlighting %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
 
 % first param is font size, second is baselineskip
-\newcommand\codesize{\fontsize{10}{15}\selectfont}
-\newcommand\smallcodesize{\fontsize{9}{11}\selectfont}
+\newcommand\codesize{\fontsize{9}{1.15\parskip}\selectfont}
+\newcommand\smallcodesize{\fontsize{8}{1.1\parskip}\selectfont}
 
 
 % define the colors for code highlighting (based on Eclipse colors)
@@ -41,20 +42,25 @@
 
 % define the colors for code highlighting (based on NetBeans colors)
 \definecolor{KeywordColor}{rgb}{0.0,0,0.9}
-\definecolor{CommentColor}{rgb}{0.59,0.59,0.59}
+\definecolor{CommentColor}{rgb}{0.45,0.45,0.45} % a bit darker than NetBeans
 \definecolor{StringColor}{rgb}{0.81,0.48,0.0}
 
+% create the fonts for code highlighting
+\newcommand{\codefont}{\fontfamily{fvm}\selectfont}
+\newcommand{\commentfont}{\rmfamily\itshape}
+
 % create a new environment for source code blocks
 \lstnewenvironment{codeblock}[1][]
 {
 \lstset{
 	language=Java,
 	upquote=true,
-	basicstyle=\color{black}\ttfamily\codesize,
-	keywordstyle=\color{KeywordColor}\ttfamily\bfseries\codesize,
-	commentstyle=\color{CommentColor}\rmfamily\itshape\codesize,
-	stringstyle=\color{StringColor}\rmfamily\codesize,
-	lineskip=-7pt,
+	basicstyle=\color{black}\codefont\codesize,
+	keywordstyle=\color{KeywordColor}\codefont\codesize,
+	commentstyle=\color{CommentColor}\commentfont\normalsize,
+	stringstyle=\color{StringColor}\codefont\codesize,
+	aboveskip=10pt,
+	belowskip=0pt,
 	showstringspaces=false,
 	tabsize=3,
 	showtabs=false,
@@ -71,11 +77,12 @@
 \lstset{
 	language=Java,
 	upquote=true,
-	basicstyle=\color{black}\ttfamily\smallcodesize,
-	keywordstyle=\color{KeywordColor}\ttfamily\bfseries\smallcodesize,
-	commentstyle=\color{CommentColor}\rmfamily\itshape\smallcodesize,
-	stringstyle=\color{StringColor}\rmfamily\smallcodesize,
-	lineskip=-7pt,
+	basicstyle=\color{black}\codefont\smallcodesize,
+	keywordstyle=\color{KeywordColor}\codefont\smallcodesize,
+	commentstyle=\color{CommentColor}\commentfont\codesize,
+	stringstyle=\color{StringColor}\codefont\smallcodesize,
+	aboveskip=5pt,
+	belowskip=-5pt,
 	showstringspaces=false,
 	tabsize=2,
 	showtabs=false,
@@ -100,15 +107,17 @@
 \lstset{%
 	language=Java,
 	upquote=true,
-	basicstyle=\color{black}\ttfamily\codesize,
-	keywordstyle=\color{KeywordColor}\ttfamily\bfseries\codesize,
-	commentstyle=\color{CommentColor}\rmfamily\itshape\codesize,
-	stringstyle=\color{StringColor}\rmfamily\codesize,
+	basicstyle=\color{black}\codefont\normalsize,
+	keywordstyle=\color{KeywordColor}\codefont\normalsize,
+	commentstyle=\color{CommentColor}\commentfont\normalsize,
+	stringstyle=\color{StringColor}\codefont\normalsize,
 	showstringspaces=false,
 	showtabs=false
 }%
 \mbox{\lstinline[#1]!#2!}}
 
+%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+
 % command for figures - first param is scale, second is file
 \newcommand{\fig}[2] {
   \begin{figure}[H]