I started using these tools at the weekend after they were recommended at the first CQF lecture. I think it is a good idea as it is easier to keep copies of work than paper.

Firstly, the text is entered using WinEdit

http://www.winedt.com/

and is then compiled and opened using MiKTeK

http://www.miktex.org/

A good help file can be found here

http://tug.org/tex-archive/info/lshort/english/lshort.pdf