In what might become a series of posts, I would like to let everyone know about some really good freeware applications that could just make your life easier/better/more productive/land you more chicks.

The first application I would like to introduce is the image editing software Paint.Net

Paint.Net is very simple to use, if you’ve used any other graphics program you can just jump right in. It supports all the common tools and file formats that you would expect to see in what was originally developed as a “Better Microsoft Paint”. But it also has advanced features such as layers, unlimited undos, red-eye removal and many filters and effects.

It also loads up very quickly, and because of that has become my default image editor.

The program isn’t intended as a total replacement for Photoshop. But for the hobbist, student, webdesigner or indie game developer it should definately be added to your collection of tools.

There are also some interesting posts on Rick Brewster’s Blog where Rick mentions that Paint.Net is ‘profitable’. He doesn’t quantify exactly what ‘profitable’ means, Paint.net is after all a freeware program - but he does accept donations, and he does have ads on his website. Rick also views income from Paint.Net as supplementary to his day job, but from his posts it seems that we can infer there are people out there who will pay for a free service if they get value out of it.

I would also recommend browsing the Paint.Net Forums - particularly the tutorials section to get started with Paint.Net