Linux text editors: Do any make the grade?
Linux buffs tend to scoff at one of the major reasons that Windows users like me haven’t switched yet: We don’t want to give up our favorite applications. With countless open-source options, plus a rising number of commercial apps for Linux, their argument goes, we can certainly find a replacement for whatever software we’re running on XP or Vista. But, Linux fans, it’s not so simple. “Replacement” applications don’t always offer all the features we’d have to give up. Sometimes it takes multiple apps to fill in for a Windows-only favorite. Maybe the Linux alternative isn’t as slick. Or maybe it just works differently — which doesn’t make it better or worse than its Windows counterpart, but it does mean that we have to relearn how to get things done. That’s not a trivial obstacle for office workers whose time is one of their most precious commodities. I spend a good chunk of keyboard time dealing with text in varied forms, so one of my top requirements is a robust application that can
