[yarian]

I will argue that simple text editor does not usually equal simple + powerful. Most "simple" text editors (think Notepad) are just plain simple.

Emacs seems quite simple to me, actually. Intimidating at first, sure. Complex to master, but simple to use.

Then again, there's an obvious difference between something that is difficult to learn and something that is difficult to use. In fact most tools require training at first to use them, and Emacs is not any different.