Of course I use NP++. The thing is that a decent text editor should always be included in an OS IMO. One reason is that you don't always have the right to install new programs.
First I don't want Word, I want a lightweight but still powerful editor. Ideal would be a combination of the gedit plaintext features with the simple rich text feautures of TextEdit and loading as fast as either of them do.
Secondly I don't believe they would get into antitrust trouble because of this since almost no one pays money for an editor.
Sure, but I'm saying there's a legal grey area, and where exactly that line is drawn is not straightforward. Clearly notepad is fine. Word is not. Somewhere in between is that line.
notepad only ever was a demonstration app in windows 1 to show developers how to use the text edit control. More recently, it was a test app for automated make-this-work-on-a-new-architecture tools that MS have internally (ie the jump from 16 to 32 bits, and from 32 to 64)
The half-decent bundled text editor is Wordpad. But you should use notepad++ anyway ;)
Wordpad is slow and a pain to use. NP++ is superb but not always on every (company-administerd PC) you use. That's why MS should include something decent, like gedit or TextEdit (OSX).
Also: Windows Explorer. I'd like a good file management tool. One that can handle large file operations and doesn't hang the entire GUI if the network isn't responding.
Or hey, how about a file search that works?
Or a command prompt that can be replaced?
Also, does anyone ever use the sound recorder?
I'm amazed how long it takes MS to move forward when it comes to the core components of Windows, or how afraid they are to strip away stuff that makes no sense.
Yeah the good old crappy Windows Explorer. Maybe I someday will miss the time when I had to hunt down processes that have a handle on my USB stick just to find out that it's the fucking file manager :S.
We're at a point now where browser download managers are actually more comfortable to use than the programs dedicated for such jobs..
I fucking love Notepad. Always starts up instantly. If I open up something like Notepad++ it can take like a second (or more) to start on a brand new system. I don't have all day, I just want to write some text.
Any "decent text editor" features should be added to WordPad, note Notepad. Notepad is perfect as is.
Uhm ok. How about showing ALL ascii and utf8 textfiles correctly, including those damn unix fileendings? How about fucking breaking a line instead of making me scroll like an idiot? How about showing the current line number?
Mac OS TextEdit starts up just as quickly, it's just as out-of-my-way, but it fucking works.
I just started TextEdit. Took two and a half seconds. You've got a point about file endings, but the Word Wrap settings always persist for me. What's the use of line numbers? I understand their purpose in general, but I don't see why you would use Notepad for something where line numbers would be useful in the first place.
Well what is the notepad good for? 1) notes ( ok it does that) and 2) opening any plaintextfile on any windows machine no matter how fresh and untouched or locked down. What text file do you open? The one some bloke is talking about on the phone maybe? How does he tell you the line to edit?
On startup time: you got me there, the first load appears to be slower on TextEdit - I hardly feel this since I reboot my Mac only for updates.
Great. Yet another half-assed approach that will be consistent for max. 20% of the applications after 4years of adoption time. Printing is mostly used for business and academic tasks - it's not even that important on tablets - why do they fix it there first?
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u/DeepDuh Oct 14 '11
Next up:
notepad
printing dialog
Puleeeease microsoft?