Yeah PSP is really user-friendly if you're just breaking in. It's also much more practical for some more basic-themed colors... we dont' have it at my center so i use photoshop, and it takes longer to do easier things in some ways.
Talk about crime all you want, but we've gone over the ifs, hows and whens of piracy. It's not a subject for discussion here. Therefore, it's inappropriate to suggest that there are alternatives for acquiring software other than someone paying for it.
Just wanted to pop in with a plug for the Gimp. Powerful, flexible, and free. I actually find it easier to use than Photoshop too. Haven't tried it on windows to be honest, but it is available.
only catch is you can't do .gifs, as the project doesn't have the funds for the Unisys patent. Still a very powerful and useful image manipulation program.
