I have only just started using gvim less than a week ago, and I must say I love it. I know very few of its features yet but I can already work as fast as I could with NEdit - I expect my editing speed will increase a lot once I'm really used to Vim. Yes, having to switch between command and edit mode seems a nuisance at first, but it removes the need for a lot of extra keypresses - rather than Ctrl-this/Ctrl-that'ing, you just hit a single key (or two) to execute some command. I can only recommend this editor to everyone. Just suffer through the initial getting-to-know phase and you'll be rewarded richly.

Do take the vimtutor! That is what got me started for real. Don't try to figure Vim out on your own cause it will take you ages to collect a useful set of shortcuts. The tutor will get you started on becoming productive in very little time. Go through it again after 2 or 3 days of using Vim for a refresher, then print the reference card.

This editor really rocks. I'm glad I was repeatedly nagged to try it :-)

Makeshifts last the longest.