Yup, just like the title says only not out of frustration. No rants allowed. That said,

     Ever since I canceled my sub with Photoshop, life can be very annoying at times, I've been trying to concentrate on my other projects. However since I already know what I want to do, having already completed several prototypes on a breadboard, it seems only logical (don't ever say I'm logical. Me and logic have a love/hate relationship) to actually see what it is I'm trying to do. So I took the plunge.

     First I dl'd Gimp. Now, I had played with Gimp back in the day and it was ok. I didn't like that the windows were spread out all over the screen though, unlike PS where its all in one. Next I dl'd Paint Shop Pro 2018 trial version. Its 135 mb as opposed to PS's 1.2 gigs. The install went fine until I opened it up. Something called IPP.dll could not be found so it didn't open. Another message comes up to reinstall the program so I did that. Afterwards it comes back and says all products have been installed. That took about ten seconds. Ok fine. I open it up and again and this time it works. I get a welcome screen that gives you a preview of what PSP is like. Instead of clicking on start I click on file > new. Big mistake. 

     PSP has two different workspaces, essentials and complete. I chose essentials. Way too bland, it was like nothing was there except the toolbar and palette. Boring, so I change it to complete. Much better except there's no toolbar. Bummer #2. During my search to find a way to get the toolbar back PSP closes. Just like that, gone. I didn't touch nuthin! I beginning to wonder if this thing is worth it. Now I open it a third and because I had changed it to the complete workspace that is what showed up after this time clicking on start.

     It was like being inside a different version of Photoshop only with a lot more. I worked with PS long enough to know my way around and PSP is no different. The only difference is that you do things a little different. It felt like being home. Now I have't played with it yet but from what I saw so far its intriguing. I'm having second thoughts about Gimp, maybe because I got spoiled, because of the way its set up. I prefer the all in one. Since buying PS is out of the question, I can't afford seven hundred bucks, I'm thinking of buying PSP. The regular version is about seventy bucks, the Ultimate version eighty bucks. The Ultimate version is like getting all the goodies that come with PS, only not as good. (Last I checked it was a steep $1,200.00, I think). Still even eighty bucks for the Ultimate version is a steal. The regular version, even better. So, what you people think. PS vs PSP vs Gimp. Illogical people want to know.