The GIMP is an open source photoshop alternative I've heard of a mod that makes it look and act exactly like photoshop it's called GIMPshop.

People are also talking about Paint.net which is supposed to be easier to use.

CinePaint is a little more Pro geared towards the movie industry.

Then there is Krita but I don't know nothing about it.

I would go with Paint.net, it's easier to use but still powerful.

A couple of points.

Got it to load when you push the button and turn off...
BUT it won't turn on again without a reboot.
Temp solution was to go into the prog file and drag a shortcut of the dacs.exe to the desktop.

I've found the REAL problem is with the dacsminiapp.exe, each time you load the prog [at boot up? or whenever you shut it down] it tries to check for updates.... but the update site isn't working and it's stuck in a timed loop.
If you wait lonf enough abd pass your mouse pointer over the tray icon you'll notice it stops showing 'checking for updates' and the prog will work again.
I think the main problem is the update/registration site not being there so this application stalls!

Same thing here ----
the kids are very disappointed and I am very frustrated. I tried the Console Test Application that was suggested but according to that -- the problem is NOT with the console. Even though the claim is made that it is compatable with Vista - I am begining to think it is NOT!!!! We have gotten thru some applications (arts/crafts) but not many at all. Half the time the screen just freezes and turning it on and off is not use. I have to continue to kill the program thru the task manager. I uninstalled and reinstalled the program but that didn't help. I bought the Barbie and Diego expansion disks and loaded them - I can not even find them or there projects. I think it may be time to retuen and wait till they figure it out. I recommended to my family and friends - who I have called some (and have the same issues) and some I have left messages to just return it and but their children something that actually works.

OK, to help clarify my fix so you know exactly where the spaces are, type this line, and where you see an exclamation mark ( ! ), replace it with a space. Again, this should all be on one line from a Command Prompt window.

secedit!/configure!/cfg!%windir%\repair\secsetup.inf!/db!secsetup.sdb!/verbose

This process takes a few minutes to run, so please be patient, and wait for it to complete before using your PC. I would recommend that no other programs are running while you do this. The Command Prompt window should state when the process is finished. Because I am a technician working in an organization with almost 1000 users, and am seeing this problem on several PCs, I created a batch file so I don't have to keep typing it.

Again, once it finishes, open up Internet Explorer, then go to Adobe's site and try to install Flash.