I know some people used the term with the source-view back in InterDev 1.0 days.
I've also heard some people call ActiveX Control Pad "Visual Notepad."
There was a nasty shareware editor written in VB 3 called "Visual Notepad" years ago. Maybe that's what I thought was being referenced?
Seems like there is something called "Visual Notepad" in VS.Net too. Can't be sure myself, I backed away from .Net in September when I saw it going nowhere fast. Based upon the level of posts I see here it appears my decision has been vindicated.
Too bad, there is a lot of good in .Net, although I think acceptance will continue to be glacial. Looks like MS scalded the baby in the Java this time.