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Just got a cheapo new PC but it has no graphics package on it - unless you count MS Paint!

I need a package that can resize pictures, save in various formats, and do very basic editing. I'm sure a search on Google would bring in hundreds of results, but has anyone any experience with a good freeware or shareware package available on the net?

I'm not tight - honest. It's just I only save images and resize them for use on my website - nothing fancy. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Ta muchly!

Oh, and while I'm here, now I'm all broadbanded in the Bell Mansion, anyone know where I can get some classic platformers to play on the PC? I'm thinking original Sonic, Mario Bros., Rolo to the Rescue (!!), Mickey's Castle of Illusion, etc?

GIMP is the way forward.


Go here and have fun!

EckoZero wrote:GIMP is the way forward.


Go here and have fun!

That looks like just the jobbie! Many thanks!

themagicwand wrote:I need a package that can resize pictures, save in various formats, and do very basic editing. I'm sure a search on Google would bring in hundreds of results, but has anyone any experience with a good freeware or shareware package available on the net?

Irfanview : Simple, fast and efficient.
Gimp: For more functions. But the first one will cover your needs probably

anyone know where I can get some classic platformers to play on the PC? I'm thinking original Sonic, Mario Bros., Rolo to the Rescue (!!), Mickey's Castle of Illusion, etc?

Search for MAME (it is an Arcade Machine Emulator).
Also many old games are now considered Abandoned (Abandonware) and you can freely download them. Search the terms on google, or start here :
http://www.reloaded.org/genre.php?Genre=allgames

GIMP's good but can be a little complicated if you only want to do simple stuff with it, Paint.NET's a nice simple choice that can probabaly do most of what you're after.

I have Photoshop but still use IrfanView for various jobs. Tiny bit of software; very fast and friendly. Just how I like 'em.

themagicwand wrote:

EckoZero wrote:GIMP is the way forward.


Go here and have fun!

That looks like just the jobbie! Many thanks!

Get GIMP Portable and you dont have to install it and all the associated files cluttering your computer

there's also gimpshop, which is a photoshop lite styleeee emulator...if you want to impersonate emus at a lator (sic) date that is...

also, think about getting a cheapo graphics tablet - i have an a5 bamboo tablet, hard to swallow...but great value and easy to use...thirty quid i think from amazon?

You can get some pretty decent ones on Ebay; digital artists are constantly upgrading when new ones come out. A warning though, if you are using the Gimp through windows there is something wrong with the wotsit that interprets pressure from graphics tablets; it only seems to work on the third Tuesday of the month after a full moon if you are wearing lime green cycling shorts and a yashmak and that has only happened to me once. I suppose that may be fixed with newer tablets and later versions of the Gimp though.

The best and most ethical place to find abandonware games was always Home of the Underdogs (HOTU). It has sadly died, although there are projects under way to revive it. The best revival seems to be this one, which is rebuilding the downloads database.

I believe that Abandonia, though smaller in scope, is equally ethical. There are other abandonware sites I've visited in the past but won't recommend as they seemed rather less fussy about researching copyright.

Thanks for all the advice. Have just downloaded Infraview and it looks just the thing. Many thanks for all your help.