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I also used Vim for about 5 years. I have been using Emacs for about two years now. Emacs, hands down, is the better editor, and not only that. When I first dec

I also used Vim for about 5 years. I have been using Emacs for about two years now. Emacs, hands down, is the better editor, and not only that. When I first decided to learn one of them, Vim seemed cool because modal editing was something new to me. I'm glad I learned it, but I wish I had switched to Emacs earlier. Emacs offers so much than Vim plus many other programs combined. Emacs users often mention org-mode, but to me Gnus is the best non-programming related Emacs package. Life's short. In addition to learning an editor, I don't want to learn an email client UI (all of the ones I used (Thunderbird, Gmail website, Evolution, Geary, Kmail, etc.) suck compared to Gnus), an IRC UI, or any other software that I may want to use in the future. With Emacs, once I grasped the basics, learning ERC (an IRC client), org-mode, Gnus, Projectile, etc. was not that hard. For example, using org-mode I can create flashcards and export them to Anki (it' so much faster and less frustrating than the Anki editor). Emacs is also well documented. Moreover, Elisp introduced me to the Lisp family of languages. I'm amazed how the Common Lisp development environment with Slime and Quicklisp is so much better than anything else out there. People think Python notebooks are great for easy prototyping. I say they should try Slime first. yada yada yada (You should try Emacs yourself and see if you like it.) yada yada yada.

nextos 8y ago
Have you tried Notmuch. I like Gnus, but I find Notmuch's architecture really neat. Besides, it's super fast. Have you considered org-drill instead of exporting to Anki? Or you run Anki on a phone? The only thing I miss on Emacs is a good OMEMO XMPP or Signal implementation. Currently Bitlbee lacks both.
- tashlandiq1 8y ago
  I tried mu4e before Gnus. Haven't tried Notmuch. I like reading hackernews and some mailing lists on Gnus without cluttering my inbox. Not sure if Notmuch can handle that. Yes, I use Anki on my phone too. I haven't thought about using Emacs as an IM, but I use w3m for browsing, which is great given all JS/CSS crap we get from websites these days. I just want text and can easily search for it within w3m.
clircle 8y ago
How well does Evil mode work with Gnus? I used mu4e for a while but eventually just went back to thunderbird.
- tashlandiq1 8y ago
  I don't know. I've never used Evil. I felt like I should actively forget Vim in order to get the most out of Emacs. Vim emulation maybe good for editing for some people, but Emacs is much more than an editor. People bring up the Emacs pinky problem, and I agree it's a problem. But the solution for me was easy: mapped the left alt to ctrl, and kept using the right alt as alt.
  - natrys 8y ago
    Mine is nearly the same. I use xcape to make space behave as ctrl when pressed in conjunction with other keys, but just space otherwise. Much more convenient use of the left thumb. But yes, in practice there is some getting used to it if you are a fast typer, because xcape uses a tiny time threshold to distinguish between the intent behind these two (and that normal space occurs at key release, not key press).
    - clircle 8y ago
      Interesting, I alt as control on Windows and Linux. I wonder if there is a way to map Space to Control when tapped on Windows.
      - natrys 8y ago
        Map as in the equivalent of the xcape solution? You can do these things using AutoHotKey. I use this: https://github.com/benhansenslc/BigCtrl https://github.com/benhansenslc/BigCtrl
pjmlp 8y ago
> I'm amazed how the Common Lisp development environment with Slime and Quicklisp is so much better than anything else out there. Now imagine the commercial ones. https://franz.com/products/allegro-common-lisp/acl_ide.lhtml https://franz.com/products/allegro-common-lisp/acl_ide.lhtml http://basalgangster.macgui.com/RetroMacComputing/The_Long_View/Entries/2013/2/17_Macintosh_Common_Lisp.html http://basalgangster.macgui.com/RetroMacComputing/The_Long_V...
- WalterGR 8y ago
  Why Franz and not LispWorks? 20 minutes into a Franz video about single-step debugging and they still hadn’t set it up yet. Maybe that was impressive 30 years ago?

nextos 8y ago

Have you tried Notmuch. I like Gnus, but I find Notmuch's architecture really neat. Besides, it's super fast. Have you considered org-drill instead of exporting to Anki? Or you run Anki on a phone? The only thing I miss on Emacs is a good OMEMO XMPP or Signal implementation. Currently Bitlbee lacks both.

tashlandiq1 8y ago
I tried mu4e before Gnus. Haven't tried Notmuch. I like reading hackernews and some mailing lists on Gnus without cluttering my inbox. Not sure if Notmuch can handle that. Yes, I use Anki on my phone too. I haven't thought about using Emacs as an IM, but I use w3m for browsing, which is great given all JS/CSS crap we get from websites these days. I just want text and can easily search for it within w3m.

clircle 8y ago

How well does Evil mode work with Gnus? I used mu4e for a while but eventually just went back to thunderbird.

tashlandiq1 8y ago
I don't know. I've never used Evil. I felt like I should actively forget Vim in order to get the most out of Emacs. Vim emulation maybe good for editing for some people, but Emacs is much more than an editor. People bring up the Emacs pinky problem, and I agree it's a problem. But the solution for me was easy: mapped the left alt to ctrl, and kept using the right alt as alt.
- natrys 8y ago
  Mine is nearly the same. I use xcape to make space behave as ctrl when pressed in conjunction with other keys, but just space otherwise. Much more convenient use of the left thumb. But yes, in practice there is some getting used to it if you are a fast typer, because xcape uses a tiny time threshold to distinguish between the intent behind these two (and that normal space occurs at key release, not key press).
  - clircle 8y ago
    Interesting, I alt as control on Windows and Linux. I wonder if there is a way to map Space to Control when tapped on Windows.
    - natrys 8y ago
      Map as in the equivalent of the xcape solution? You can do these things using AutoHotKey. I use this: https://github.com/benhansenslc/BigCtrl https://github.com/benhansenslc/BigCtrl

pjmlp 8y ago

> I'm amazed how the Common Lisp development environment with Slime and Quicklisp is so much better than anything else out there. Now imagine the commercial ones. https://franz.com/products/allegro-common-lisp/acl_ide.lhtml https://franz.com/products/allegro-common-lisp/acl_ide.lhtml http://basalgangster.macgui.com/RetroMacComputing/The_Long_View/Entries/2013/2/17_Macintosh_Common_Lisp.html http://basalgangster.macgui.com/RetroMacComputing/The_Long_V...

WalterGR 8y ago
Why Franz and not LispWorks? 20 minutes into a Franz video about single-step debugging and they still hadn’t set it up yet. Maybe that was impressive 30 years ago?