i'm glad to see continued development on LyX - i started with TeXnicCenter, then moved to LyX, and now on TeXworks (primarily for speed), but without LyX i probably would have abandoned Latex. LyX makes a steep learning curve so much simpler - in some sense the pitfalls and lack of features makes it easier to move outside the IDE and become more comfortable with Tex in general. You copy and paste your lyx code to something like TeXworks, and edit small pieces to get the desired effect not achievable in LyX.