LaTeX is not slow or inconsistent. You only need to run it multiple times if you use features that require it, and that is because one pass generates code to b

LaTeX is not slow or inconsistent. You only need to run it multiple times if you use features that require it, and that is because one pass generates code to be read in a second pass. The syntax is not ugly. It's a macro programming language. If you don't like use vim (or emaca with AucTeX) to write it, look at LaTeXila - it's pretty good. If on Windows, notepad++ is also free and has excellent support for LaTeX.