It looks like you've got a gradient in this image. It's not uncommon to get banding in a large gradient. Use the noise filter on it. If you set it right, you can get rid of the banding without introducing any visible noise. - Ken Heronheart -

Unfortunately, no. Such an opton would generate some pretty huge file sizes.

Use Gaussian blur set to maybe 3 pixels and then use levels. that will often clean up the jaggies.

My experience on a PC is that 6 is noticably faster than 5.5 for such tasks as rotating and resizing images. 7 is somewhat faster than 6. Given that the text tool was completely revamped in going from 5.5 to 6 it wouldn't be surprising if that had slowed down. Also the new paint engine on 7 will run slower if you're having it do something really complex. What are the specs on your machine? Adobe is recommending a pretty hefty system for 7, although it will run on slower machines. - Ken Heronheart -

Try going to Edit/Preferences/File Handling and checking "Always maximize compatability for Photoshop (PSD) Files". This will increase your file size, but it should cause PhotoShop to save a flattened version of the file along with the layered version. The flattened version should open in PSP. If you need to work on a particular layer from Photoshop in PSP it's often quickest to just copy and paste between the two applications. Hope that helps, - Ken Heronheart -

You can try the Despeckle filter in Photoshop. Also, the moire will often be worse in one color channel then the others. Concentrate your efforts on that channel. - Ken Heronheart -

Another technique is to find a photo of a waterfall and then use the clone tool set to non-aligned to paint it into your image. Be sure to periodically change the source point for the brush. That will give you the "feel" of the waterfall without creating an exact duplicate. - Ken Heronheart -

I find that setting the antiallas option to "crisp" or "none" usually causes most fonts to look pretty good. - Ken Heronheart -

I seem to remember seeing something in the FAQ on Adobeforums.com photoshop forum about KPT3 not working in Photoshop 7. If you want to use an additional plug-in directory, go to Edit/Preferences/Plugins and Scratch Disk and check the box for "Additional Plug-In Directory" and browse to the directory you want to use. Works in Photoshop 6 as well. - Ken Heronheart -

Another good reason to go with the Wacom is that the company will likely be around awhile. My first tablet was a Creation Station, very similar to a Wacom Graphire, but now discontinued. When I ran into a driver conflict with another piece of hardware I was SOL. Also no Windows XP driver available. So after 3 years I bought the Graphire because I couldn't imagine doing without a tablet. On the other hand, the Creation Station was worth every penny of the $99 I paid for it and I still use it on the "basement computer". - Ken Heronheart -

A graphics tablet makes a world of difference. I use a Graphire2 5x4. You can sometimes find reconditioned ones at a good discount. You should probably get a Wacom in any case. They make the Graphire, Intuos, etc. If you do much graphics work the time savings will quickly pay for the tablet. Also the new Photoshop 7 brushes will be much more fun to play with when you have a tablet. In fact, I would probably say go for the Intuos, not only does it have more levels of sensitivitity, but you can also get pens that will sense pen tilt and stylus wheel while the Graphire will only sense pressure. Of course, if you've got the three grand to spend just get the Cintiq ;-) - Ken Heronheart -

There are any number of tutorials on the web, just go to google and type in "photoshop tutorial". In some ways you're fortunate in that the brushes in 7 are much more complex than they are in six. A book that really helped me out when I was getting started was the "Visual Quickstart guide to Photoshop". You can pick up old editions quite cheaply and most of what they say is still relevant. It's also really helpful to browse the manual that comes with Photoshop. It will give you an idea of the terminology and of what's possible. - Ken Heronheart -

Three general guidelines to remember in trying to represent 3D in 2D. 1) Light surfaces appear to be closer, darker surfaces appear to be further away. 2) On a curved surface with uniform markings, the markings will appear closer together as the surface curves away from the observer. 3) Sharp details appear to be closer, blurred details appear to be further away. Of course you will occasionally violate these guidelines for good reasons, but they will help in determining how to achieve the general effect. - Ken Heronheart -

The blur tool has a checkbox marked "Use all layers" that will blur all visible layers at once. It's especially handy if you create a new empty layer above the layers you want to merge. You can also partially erase the top layer to blend the layers together. You can do this directly with the eraser tool or indirectly by adding a "Layer mask" to the layer you want to erase and painting in gray on the layer mask. I find the airbrush settings especially useful for both these operations. It would also be useful to know which version of Photoshop you're using. There are significant differences between 5,6 and 7. - Ken Heronheart -

I would say you did a good job creating the effect you were after. - Ken Heronheart -