What is the big deal with photoshop anyways?

Personally I didn't like photoshop, it was a trail one a few years ago. I much prefer my Paint Shop Pro. I actually prefer version 7 before it was bought by Corel and it became bogged down with too much stuff. They are now up to version 11. I have some of the later versions but I don't use them that often. I know many people rave about photoshop but I don't see it worth the price especially for the professional version at close to $700.

I believe what you are talking about is not the full version of Photoshop photo editor. It is Photoshop Elements which is in version 5 and can be bought from Adobe for $99. This is a very basic program and does not have all of the tools that the pro version has. Photoshop photo editing software is $649 (pro version). The most current version is CS3 or CS3 Extended(give you 3D capability). Here is a pdf that compares all of the Photoshop software on the market: http://www.adobe.com/products/psprelements/pdfs/comparison_chart.pdf Personally, I love Photoshop and i think it is well worth the money. Once you learn the program the possibilities are endless. I find that it is much easier to use than Illustrator or Fireworks.