Download LyXDownload LyX
LaTeX is a program that is used at most universities around the world when writing text containing mathematics. When you use LaTeX you write code, the code is then translated to some convenient format like pdf.
One advantage of writing in LaTeX instead of a regular word processor is that once you know how to input the code you can do it really fast, writing is faster than clicking. The disadvantage is that it takes rather long time to get used to writing code; the program is sometimes described as being hostile to the user (for references Google on hate+latex).
It is somewhat difficult to change the layout of the document when using LaTeX; the appearance that is produced by LaTeX is, however, a standard appearance. Regular word processors have the feature WYSIWYG, What You See Is What You Get; programs like LaTeX use the slogan WYSIWYM, What You See Is What You Mean; implying that you should focus on the content and the structure of the document as opposed to focusing on the layout.
For a novice writing code can be intimidating; the program LyX provides a graphical interface to LaTeX which to some extent gives you the WYSIWYG feature while LyX produces the LaTeX-code.
Portable LyX
If you use Windows there is a portable version of LyX that can be downloaded from http://code.google.com/p/lytex/downloads/list. The neat thing with the portable version is that you can install it to a usb-stick; you can hence use it at schools that only provide useless computers.
Using Ubuntu
Install LyX from Ubuntu Software Center.
Using Windows or Mac
Download LyX from http://www.lyx.org/Download. If you are a regular user you want the binaries (the executable program); the source code is only interesting if you want to change the program itself or want to develop a new version yourself.
Getting help
If you need help on LaTeX, Google on it! When downloading LyX you get a tutorial
which can be found under Help->Tutorial. You can view the tutorial
in pdf-format by clicking on the View PDF (pdflatex) icon.
