I think that for a long time vim or gvim on cygwin used to do exactly that (I could be misremembering here). It's literally just an addition to the vimrc file,

I think that for a long time vim or gvim on cygwin used to do exactly that (I could be misremembering here). It's literally just an addition to the vimrc file, so I've personally set up a few people's installs to do that if they asked. (Along with other handy vimrc things.) But I really don't think it's any good. In order to save or quit you still have to return to command mode (unless you're using gvim all the time), and I edit more than I insert for non-new files (that there's a difference surprises people), so you're not really buying anything. Explain the command mode, some basic editing commands, how to get to insert mode and back (perhaps even adding an imap instead of using escape; I like 'jk' myself), and let people use it for it and not just a notepad substitute.