For some time now I've been a big fan of Notepad++, a free open source text editor. I use it for all kinds of ad-hoc text editing -- looking at log files, configs, xml, some random C# sources etc. Some people still use notepad for those kinds of things and I just can't stress enough how much time and frustration you'll save if you switch to Notepad++.
Think about this: how much time you spend clicking Start and typing notepad.exe in the Run window? Or clicking through Programs menu to find notepad? Guess what, notepad++ adds a context menu item to windows, so you just right click on any file -> Edit In Notepad++
Not just it feels snappy, supports multi-tabs and syntax highlighting, you can even get a dark color theme for it: Vibrant Ink. Here's how it looks:
You can download notepad++ here. The Vibrant Ink theme is available here, copy it to C:\Users\[your user name]\AppData\[Local or Roaming]\Notepad++ on Vista. UPDATE: Vibrant Ink is now built-in, you can select it at Settings / Style Configurator / Select Theme. You'll want to change the font size in Default Style and in Brace Highlight Style to the same size (I use 8).
P.S.
Once you installed the color theme, go to Settings -> Styler Configurator and set Dina as the default font for Global Styles / Default style. If you still don't use Dina, the best programming font ever, here it is, just download and copy to C:\Windows\Fonts folder.
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