For the price, The Gimp is one the best graphics programs out there. Its free and has a long list of features. So many in fact that there may be quite a learning curve for a novice compututer user. The most recent version (for windows) to date is 2.4.2 and can be found HERE. Got a Mac? Go HERE.Documentaion for the program, in several different languages, can be HERE. The first time I installed it, I had to install two different pacakges. The first was for the library of files that Gimp runs on. I got them from THIS page. Gimp also has many plugins you can use. Be careful to make sure that the plugin you're looking at is compatible with the version you have. The plugin repository can be found HERE.

By their own account, Gimp is:

The "GNU Image Manipulation Program" (originally the General Image Manipulation Program) sired by Spencer Kimball & Peter Mattis.

In their own words, "GIMP is our answer to the current lack of free (or at least reasonably priced) image manipulation software for Linux and UNIX in general."

It is a raster editor, which means that it performs operations directly on the pixels that make up the image, and not a vector editor. Other (proprietary) raster editors include Adobe Photoshop, Jasc Paintshop Pro and the humble Microsoft Paint. An alternative free editor is the KOffice project, Krita. Users wanting to edit photographs will certainly want a raster editor like GIMP. Graphic designers and illustrators may prefer a vector editor depending on their tastes.

I used to use Paint Shop Pro before it was bought up by Adobe, who already was making Photshop. This frustrated me to no end as I don't particulary care for Photoshop, or anything adobe for that matter because all of their programs are memory hogs. The past few months I sat next to a graphic designer who was used to using Photoshop. We don't have Photoshop where we work so I introduced him to the gimp. It was different for him. Gimp did things Photoshop couldn't do and Photoshop did things Gimp couldn't do, or they did them differently. Having been used to the Photoshop hotkeys, he had to learn a few new things, but at the end of the day, I know Gimp is a tool he will continue to use. Its nice to have both but you can get by with either.