Sorry I wasn't very clear, but I can't find the old version of the web-site by Zed Shaw. It was a free tutorial and it sounds like it was in the same format that the OP was looking for. I can find the current web-site for the paid course and book.
Are you implying there is an easy way to learn Vim? :)
I remember the "Learn Python the Hard Way" web-site, but I'm having trouble even finding that. It looks like there is a book and a course instead. I wonder if the web-site version of these courses were eventually phased out?
I think it makes sense for them to emphasize a strong understanding of the fundamentals. It will help those students who later want to go into data science as well.
It's tough because everything is a subscription now. In the early days of steaming products like Netflix was great because you had access to so much for a small price. Now subscriptions services are so granular so you really have to pick and choose.