Really I only know of one of these programs that is comparable to the others. Honestly I haven't put much research into it.

GIMP is the program i know of. Haven't had a chance to work with it yet. Has anyone worked with this program? If so what did you think about it? What are the good features and what does it lack?

http://www.gimp.org/ - info
http://www.gimp.org/downloads/ - download

Can anyone give a little review on GIMP? I want to know what i'm getting into. (lost my thumb drive that I downloaded it on so i have to download it again.)

The Gimp is a really good program, it covers all the basics and a good chunk of the advanced stuff. It might not be as powerful as photoshop yet, but it is quite powerful.

Expect a bit of a learning curve though as it's interface is a little different (multiple floating windows) and expect to have a lot of windows open. On Linux a seperate Dektop for all your gimp windows is a good plan ;)

Definately the best free image editor, and better then a good number of commercial ones too.

I've used it a bit myself, but never any heavy lifting. The interface is a bit confusing, it does take a little bit to get used to. I find it convenient enough for my needs. I don't have alot of exposure to commercial brands, so it would be hard to render a decent comparison... Give it a shot, let us know what you think!

MrH

Just installed The Gimp 2.2. I so far agree with MrH on the interface. It does have a lot to it for being free though. I like what i see and as long as i can get used to it I think that I will use it for a lot of things. It from what I know of is the best free graphics program out there. A wonderful program....when I start working with it I will let you know more of my adventures.

Gimp on Windows is not fun... too many flippin windows end up open and stacked on each other. It's a fairly good program, but the interface on a windows system is rather annoying if you are working with multiple images. Even with that it is still comperable to some commercial alternatives though.

It was really designed for Linux, and is a bit more useable when you can have multiple desktops

Yeah that is one thing about the program I don't like....all the windows that pop up...i usually only work with 3 or 4 images but once i get more into image editing I'm sure that number will grow....

Any tips for me .... on tricks, etc, with GIMP.

Does anyone know if they plan to do something different with all those windows pop-ing up.