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..at least for those of us using Windows XP or (shudder) Vista:
Paint.NET is getting better and better (and has an active user community creating plugins, etc). I tried it about 2 years ago and wasn't all that impressed, but as of my latest inspection, it's pretty useful software. Just make sure to check out the forums for effects and tutorials.

I have to agree with most of your experience with GIMP. It repeatedly crashed on my machine. The GIMP interface is also not very usable. I know how to use it, but the separately floating tool windows, the cryptic menu layout, and the inconsistent design mean that you'll spend twice the time trying to accomplish a goal you could complete more quickly in Paint.Net. Paint.Net was a godsend to me. The interface is professional, well-designed, and responsive. The application also has most of the features I need in an imaging program. The fact that it is free and receives regular updates is just icing on the cake. Paint.net feels like a sold application from top to bottom. http://www.getpaint.net/

Since you're a Microsoft shop anyway, check out Paint.NET. It requires the .NET Framework 2.0 but it's (IMO) 100x better than The GIMP. It's actually turning out to be a pretty good competitor to packages like Paint Shop Pro and has the interface down, to boot. Also, it's free. Did I mention it was Open Source (MIT License, whatever that is) and Microsoft is helping with it? Yes, Microsoft is helping with an open source project (another one, rather). For simplistic tasks, it works great.

Try paint.net.

I've been using Photoshop since 1995 and Linux since 1994 and I've tried really really hard to like GIMP during the years - and failed every single time. It's just one of those programs I wish I had on floppy so I could break the disk in two.

Anyway, this is more of a Photoshop Elements alternative than CS but if you're on a Windows box I'd recommend the free software Paint.NET ( http://www.getpaint.net/ ), it's completely free and way more intuitive than GIMP, obviously influenced by Photoshop instead of trying to go its own way. It's spartan - no CMYK that I know of - but enough for all basic photo/image editing tasks (unless your profession mostly involve pixels Photoshop is probably overkill anyway).

As the name implies you need .NET installed, but that's easier than telling users to install the Windows port of GTK.

Don't you mean http://www.getpaint.net/ Anyway, Paint.NET is a good program.

Want something really photoshop like I'd recommend gimpshop http://plasticbugs.com/?page_id=294 instead.

Or maybe try out paint.net? http://www.getpaint.net/

I do Adobe Flash development for some of my work, and I do also use other Adobe/Macromedia tools, like Fireworks and Illustrator. I don't know how I would have done some of the previous work if the alpha channel in PNG wasn't available. Obviously, Adobe Flash is one way to get past the lack of transparency support in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.

A great way to see how JPG is still smaller than PNG in file size, is to use the "Save For Web" feature on a lot of Adobe products, like Photoshop/ImageReady and you can then see the file size estimates adjacent to each other.

PNG is well supported today though. This application, called PAINT.NET http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html (needs .NET 2.0 Framework) defaults to PNG. PAINT.NET is a superior free replacement to MSPAINT, IMHO.

One of my biggest problems with Linux is - believe it or not - stability.

For one, getting X to work at a good resolution was hard (I've a widescreen notebook). In fact, until a recent upgrade, I could only get it to work at a much lower resolution. Secondly, getting the WiFi to work wasn't a cakewalk, either. And during the whole messing around with install process, I had to restart the system at least a few times (Linux, meet Windows - one and the same). Now, I've also had problems with the GUI in getting things done - sure, I finally end up resorting to opening a terminal and doing what I wanted, which defeats the purpose, I think. I won't even go into the number of times I've had to restart X. And oh, I've had hell trying to get files on a USB thumb drive -- for whatever reason, the files are simply not accessible from a Windows box. Tried every damn thing, and finally booted into Windows and did what I wanted. And I still can't get my printer and scanner to play nicely with Linux. Half the time, the box ends going bonkers. I finally upgraded to Edgy Eft and things seemed a little better, but not much better (I did get Beryl working though!).

And I won't even go into such things as DVD burners and the like - half the time, I just use Windows than go through all the trouble of getting something to work.

Linux is great, but it still is not as usable nor intuitive as Windows is for a lot of things (spare me the "you're used to Windows" crap - I've been using *nix for at least 10 years). Its support for other things (e.g. Indic language support, accessibility etc.) is also nowhere near Windows.

And the thing is, as Linux becomes more usable, its stability is going down the drain.

There is also the problem with drivers - yes, I am aware that folks don't always make everything with Linux in mind or do not release the appropriate drivers (although many are starting to). But this is a chicken and egg problem - the reason they are not is because Linux isn't picking up, and the reason Linux is not picking up is because it is hell to install. And the reason it is hell to install is because you have to go hunting for drivers, appropriate fixes etc.

Secondly, the amount of free (as in beer) apps in Linux maybe more than in Windows, but they are nowhere as stable or usable. For instance, compare Paint .NET with, say, GIMP - the former while low on features is infinitely more usable (and in my experience, stable) than GIMP. The fact that the MS Paint replacement is faster and more stable than the (supposed) Photoshop replacement is a little spooky.

Personally, I think that despite what Slashdotters may believe, Linux has at least another 5-10 years to catch up to Windows in terms of accessibility, usability and stability.

The day I can get my box up and working without having to go through the trouble of hunting around the net and spending a few weeks in fixing it will be the day Linux will be comparable to Windows on the desktop.

Linux is only free if your time is not money - and for some of us, our time is money.

Also check out Paint.net Its a program called Paint.net Its free and may suit your needs. Its a decent free photoediting/painting program.

Thanks, Paint.net looks interesting however it's Windows, XP or Vista, only and I'm switching to Linux and Mac OSX. Another thing, looking through the info and searching the forum it looks like it only has an 8 bit colour depth. I want at least 16 bit colour depth.

Also check out http://www.getpaint.net/index2.html Its a program called Paint.net Its free and may suit your needs. Its a decent free photoediting/painting program.

There is little or nothing in F/OSS of interest to end users that is not ported to Windows or begins as a native Windows app: Paint.NET

There are many, many, free, high quality, programs available for Windows under other licenses.

When you can draw on "the best of both worlds," there is no compelling reason to migrate to the alternative OS.

Added to that is the relative lack of quality freeware and open source apps and utilities (compared to Windows or Linux platforms).

Seriously? What open source app or utility doesn't run on OS X?

He said freeware and open source, but off the top of my head (including freeware):

Foobar2000
Exact Audio Copy
VirtualDub
DVDShrink
Quicktime Alternative
Media Player Classic
7-zip
Quickpar
Nvu
Irfanview
Picasa 2
Paint.net
FileZilla

Since you're contemplating turning pro, there's really no substitute for Photoshop. But for ma and pa Windows-users I'd recommend Paint.NET ahead of the GIMP any day. (The only catch is they'll have to install .NET 2.0 as well.) Far more intuitive, better-looking, easy to find your way around, has some decent capabilities for amateurs. Personally I use both it and the GIMP, for different things.