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Get a friend that uses it well and will be nearby (physically) for a few months. I didn't learn until I spent a summer with Slava (coffeemug) at my side willin
by leif 17y ago
Get a friend that uses it well and will be nearby (physically) for a few months. I didn't learn until I spent a summer with Slava (coffeemug) at my side willing to answer questions.
Find ways to do as much as you can of what you normally do with your computer in emacs. If you use IRC a lot, use erc. If you use email a lot, try out gnus or rmail. Don't try to replace your web browser with w3m, that's just stupid and you'll hate it.
Also, find a mode you really like. This will keep you using emacs whether you like it or not, until you really do like it. For me, it was gdb-mode. For most, it's one of the inferior repl modes (slime for lisp or clojure or whatever, ruby, python).
I've heard good things about http://github.com/technomancy/emacs-starter-kit http://github.com/technomancy/emacs-starter-kit, but I've never tried it.
- jimmyjim 17y agoThanks for the very helpful answer, it's just what I wanted. :) I do use IRC a lot, and I'll start using erc per your suggestion. One question, is there any way to get spell-checking on it? I'm hoping the solution is as straight-forward as x-chat's (this screenshot demonstrates it fairly well: http://i42.tinypic.com/rw2ljr.jpg http://i42.tinypic.com/rw2ljr.jpg though, I don't require fancy multi-language spell-checking, just an English spell-checker will do for me) I wish I had a friend who used emacs! On that note -- anyone in this HN crowd who uses emacs from Milwaukee? I'm willing to gift copious amounts of chocolate (or whatever else you prefer) in exchange for even short periods of guidance. :)
- andrewljohnson 16y agoThat's how I learned too