Probably the best current option is LyX. It has all the advantages of LaTeX (particularly flexibility, strengths in handling large documents, and ability to set complex mathermatics), but combines this with a GUI front end, a clean separation between layout and content, and a good version control system.
Many students in the School of Computer Science use LaTeX because of its mathematical/technical and bibliographic capabilities; it is most readily available on our UNIX machines, but Mac and PC versions can be found if necessary. If you're using it for a thesis, it's worth talking to someone who is already doing so or has done so recently.
As an example, part of Daryl Essam's PhD thesis is available here as a compressed tar file.
Microsoft Word - available on the Macs and PCs - has also been used, particularly for less technical theses.
19/11/1996