GIMP
I have always wondered at the dominance of Photoshop . Almost every web designer, graphic designer, usability engineer has worked on it , almost making it an indispensable tool . However, the price tag for the software makes it prohibitive for startups to use it. Recently I have noticed a good open source software Gimp which has almost all the features of Photoshop.
My take on the tool:
- Easy to install- prereq is gtk+, comes in linux and windows flavors
- UI is neat, clean and user friendly ( Unlike the commonly held notion of any open source work)
- Easy to pick and choose the features for a starter.No flooding of options for a beginner.
- Loads of tutorials on the net
Overall, at zero cost, its definitely a tool which can replace adobe in startups