Photoshop's great strength is its incredible versatility. It's the most powerful program of its kind, which is why it's the industry standard. Yes, the learning curve is steep, but that's true of anything sufficiently powerful and versatile. The more it can do, the more there is to know. I've used Paint Shop Pro since version 1, which came on a single floppy and ran on Windows 3.x. The first graphical website I designed used homemade graphics done in PSP (version 3, I think). I still have a recent copy of PSP, although I don't know about future upgrades (depends on what Corel does to the program). I have nothing against Paint Shop Pro. On the other hand, I've been using Photoshop since about 1999 and while the learning curve WAS very steep, I'm now highly proficient with it and there's no way I'd go back to using PSP as my primary 2D graphic program. Photoshop is simply too powerful and too versatile, and has too many features I can't get anywhere else. Simple as that. So, yes, by all means, I recommend PSP as a highly capable program with a very reasonable price and it even has a lot of stuff all its own, things that are unique to the program. Very good, solid program, particularly for the hobbiest or cottage industry user. But saying that Photoshop is nothing more than an inflated pricetag is a huge misnomer. Photoshop can do things that Paint Shop Pro simply cannot do, has features that are unique and powerful, and is, after all, the industry standard for a reason. Now to a more important question. Coke or Pepsi? (I'm a die-hard Coca-Cola girl, myself ;-). bonni

"When a man gives his opinion, he's a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she's a bitch." - Bette Davis