FotoSketcher Portable is probably the fastest and easiest way to add a sketch effect to your pictures. Plus you can carry it on a USB memory device and you don't even need to install it!

FotoSketcher Portable is perfect for those of you who don't dare use Photoshop yet and simply want to add some spice to your photos without much fuss. Simply run the program and select the picture you want to sketch. FotoSketcher Portable will show a settings menu with a bunch of options: you'll be able to select the drawing style, edge threshold and also tweak the values of color, brightness and contrast.

FotoSketcher Portable applies the sketch effect in just a few seconds, and the result will be displayed side to side to the original picture, which is great for comparison FotoSketcher Portable also lets you add a text caption and embellish your sketch with a frame.

There are only a couple of minor drawbacks to FotoSketcher Portable: it only works with JPG and BMP files, and if you add a text caption to the image, you won't be able to see it on the preview window.

Apply a sketch effect to your photos in no time. No artistic skills required!

Download FotoSketcher Portable 2.25 in Softonic

FotoSketcher helps you add some spice to your photos without much fuss. The program includes dozens of drawing styles to apply, which are easily customizable by using sliders to configure color, contrast, stroke intensity and other parameters.

All you need to do is open the image you want to convert into a sketch and select the drawing effect you want to apply. The preview window, though a bit too small, lets you check the result before clicking the "Draw!" button. FotoSketcher will then apply the effect and display the final image beside the original one, so that you can compare both. The program also lets you add a frame to your image.

FotoSketcher also includes basic editing tools to modify the source image, supports skins to customize the program’s interface, and can work in batches with several photos at the same time.

FotoSketcher is the perfect tool for those who want to apply a nice sketch effect to their pictures but don’t dare use use Photoshop.

Download FotoSketcher 2.25 in Softonic

Let’s quickly go through what you can do with GIMP. The painting function has the essential clone, airbrush and pencil tools and a powerful gradient and blend tool. You can also create and save your own brushes and patterns for later use. GIMP lets you manipulate your photos, adding layers, doing Bezier and polygonal selections or setting text. Load and save animations in a frame-as-layer format and batch process all your photos for quick editing. The multi-windowed interface can be moved around to fit your needs and resized according to your desktop space

What’s more, GIMP can be expanded with over 100 different plug-ins and extensions available on the GIMP’s website. These apply in majority for layer effects such as render, distort or blur and make a great addition to the ones already present in the program. The website is also home to a variety of GIMP tutorials for people who want to brush up on their skills.

While GIMP is user-friendly, the installation process can be a bit scary. Because the application works under the GTK Runtime Environment, you will have to install this kit to successfully launch the program. The process is fairly lengthy and some error messages tend to pop up. If you persist, however, you will be able to install Gimp properly on your PC

Despite this fairly hazardous installation process, GIMP is a program we recommend. Whether you’re out of dough or are looking for a free alternative to Photoshop, GIMP is excellent image manipulation software with all the tools you’d expect. The friendly interface and expandability make this a program of choice.

GIMP - the reference in open-source image manipulation.

Download GIMP 2.6.12 in Softonic

Like other free photo editing programs such as Photoscape, FireAlpaca includes a variety of different tools that let you view, optimize, edit and print your digital images.

Although it's not quite as comprehensive as a paid photo editing program like Photoshop, FireAlpaca comes with a surprising amount of tools, some of which include a color picker and a good variety of special effects and filters.

FireAlpaca's interface is easy to navigate and simple to use if you are familiar with photo editing at all. If you're a beginner, it might take some time to figure out which features do what to your photos. This will just take a bit of experimenting on your part. Fortunately, FireAlpaca also provides helpful tips and hints via pop-up on occasion if you need them.

FireAlpaca makes its money to continue developing the program through advertising. While it's a necessary evil, it can be a little annoying to have to deal with ad pop-ups every time you launch the program.

For a free alternative to Photoshop that lets you edit and customize digital images with ease, FireAlpaca is a solid option.

Download FireAlpaca 1.0.17 in Softonic

Adobe Reader has been in existence for over a decade and has gone through various evolutions during this time. One result of this is that it has been increasingly loaded with plug-ins and extensions which mean that it's consistently criticized as being bloated and slow.

The truth about Adobe Reader's speed

It is true to a certain extent that the extra plug-ins and extensions can make Adobe run more slowly. Adobe Reader is still a PDF reader that has much to offer though. With the latest version of Adobe Reader, Adobe have addressed some of the speed issues and the memory footprint has been improved consistently throughout the development of Adobe Reader X.

Interface and stand-out features

This version of Adobe Reader is not only slightly faster, but also displays a clearer, simpler interface that makes it easier to use. Adobe Reader X still features the classic tools from previous versions (Zoom, Text selection, Snapshots and Read out loud), but now it also includes renewed features such as the ability to leave comments as sticky notes. A new feature you’ll find in Adobe Reader X is the Share tool, with which you can easily share the document by email or via the Adobe SendNow service.

Built-in security precautions

If you were worried about security issues in Adobe Reader, fear not: Adobe Reader X is probably the safest version ever released, thanks to the new Protected Mode than loads images, code and 3D objects in a special area in memory, isolated from the system.

Adobe Reader X is undoubtedly an important update in the history of this popular PDF reader – an essential tool to open, read and print PDF documents.

Download Adobe Reader X 10.1.2 in Softonic

Artweaver is the perfect tool to give free rein to your imagination and creativity. It includes more than a dozen different brushes – each of them with their own tweaks and settings - to create all sorts of effects. The brushes try to convey the feeling and result of using actual drawing tools, and I have to say they do a pretty good job!

Some of the brushes included in Artweaver are acrylics, chalk, charcoal, felt pens, pastels, oils and pencils, among others. There are also a few special filters and adjustments you can use when editing images, but the program's main focus is on drawing.

Artweaver stands out for some other interesting features, like support for layers and transparency, a history windows like the one in Photoshop and a comfortable, customizable interface.

Artweaver is a powerful drawing tool with an great selection of brushes to create impressive works of art.

Download Artweaver 3.0.2 in Softonic

This is usually a trick for Photoshop experts, but now with FotoMix you can also create that illusion, even if you have no idea about how to use Adobe’s editor. The program has been especially designed to help you achieve this effect in the easiest way possible.

FotoMix features a simple interface divided into several tabs, each for a specific purpose: select background image, select foreground image, create a composition with them and add up some final touches.

Using FotoMix is really simple: all you have to do is select the background image, the foreground person or object you want to use and apply one onto the other. Then simply erase the redundant background in the Composition tab, and polish the result in the Touch up tab. The resulting image can be embellished with a frame and saved in several different graphic formats.

FotoMix is a handy tool for photo composition that doesn't require any graphic editing skills. On the downside, more advanced users will find it annoyingly limited: the tools are too basic, and there’s no undo function when you’re mixing the foreground and background images.

FotoMix is an easy-to-use photo editor that lets you create image compositions without any editing skills.

Download FotoMix 8.7.4 in Softonic

Now thanks to Adobe Photoshop SpeedUp, you'll be able to make some changes that could mark the difference between you being able to run the program or not. Adobe Photoshop SpeedUp allows you to speed the start up process by personalizing various options - you'll be able to choose the plug-ins you want to load, establish a maximum memory limit and select whether or not you want to load Photoshop's presets.

One of the positive things about Adobe Photoshop SpeedUp is that you0'll be able to turn it off and return to your original presets at any time. On the downside, you can only use Adobe Photoshop SpeedUp with Adobe Photoshop CS4 or below, so it won't be much help with the newest version.

Adobe Photoshop SpeedUp is an excellent tool for users who run Photoshop on less powerful computers.

Download Adobe Photoshop SpeedUp 3.00 in Softonic

Massive photo editing tools like Photoshop are great, but some find them too heavy and complicated for everyday usage.

PicPick is definitely a better choice if what you need is just a simple image editor. With PicPick you can easily perform simple editing tasks to your photos, including brightness, contrast and color adjustment, grayscale, blur, pixelate and other special effects. There's also a cool whiteboard feature which enables you to write and draw directly on the screen.

But PicPick is not only an image editor: it's also a full featured screen capturing tool with which you can capture the image on your monitor in several ways: full screen, active window, user-defined area and more. Plus, PicPick can work with several documents simultaneously and captures can be triggered with customizable keyboard shortcuts, which makes it even handier.

I liked the versatility of PicPick, as well as the fact that it doesn't require installation. On the downside, I missed certain features such as support for printing or the ability to capture complete webpages with automatic scrolling.

PicPick is a lightweight yet full featured image editor and capturer, perfect for simple daily image editing tasks.

Download PicPick 3.1.0 in Softonic

Photoscape is an amazing free photo editor. It includes so many filters, tools and special effects you'll find it hard to believe it's actually free.

Photoscape includes just about everything you need to view, optimize, edit, print and have fun with your photos. In fact, it's so complete that many would call it a free Photoshop alternative. Sure, it's not quite up to the level of Photoshop, but it's truly a great alternative to Adobe's big shot - and it makes photo editing a lot more fun!

One of the first striking elements in Photoscape is its uncommon interface design. From the program's main window you can choose what you want to do: view pictures, optimize those that didn't come out so well, print several photos on a single page collage-style or perhaps add any of the dozens of filters and special effects included in the program.

Other extra tools featured in Photoscape are a file renamer, a color picker, a screen capture tool and even a RAW converter.

There's really nothing negative to say about Photoscape. Just download it, test it, love it and keep it forever. It's free!

Download Photoscape 3.6 in Softonic

Once installed on your system, Shotty sits unobtrusively in the system tray. The program icon gives you access to its image capturing functions – with a left click – and also to a context menu with configuration options with a right click.

Shotty lets you grab the whole screen, a selected area or the currently active window, and save the captured image to your hard drive. As an extra, Shotty supports transparency effects in Windows 7 and Vista, which is very useful if you plan to save these images as .PNG and edit them later on in Photoshop. If you only need to do some quick editing, such as cropping, adding blurred areas or marking important spots on the image, you can use Shotty’s built-in editor.

But the best feature in Shotty is undoubtedly its ability to share the image online right away, uploading it to one of the photo sharing services supported by the program: ImageShack.us, Twitpic.com, DirectUpload.net and others. Unfortunately the behavior of this feature was a bit erratic, as it didn't seem to work properly unless you enabled the 'Show configuration before upload' option.

With Shotty you can easily capture an image on your desktop and share it online in just a couple of clicks.

Download Shotty 2.0.2 in Softonic

This tool lets you create an image from scratch or edit one of your images in an intuitive interface. The program is easy enough to use like any other Paint-like application, but also has some powerful features that you normally don't find in other free graphic editors.

Among the features included in RealWorld Paint you'll find support for layers and masks – just like Photoshop - and a bunch of special effects and filters, image blending, support for gradients and shadows and more, besides the basic drawing and retouching tools. RealWorld Paint may not offer the same array of options you find in professional graphic suites, but it's still a surprising selection of tools for a free editor.

RealWorld Paint has also support for scanners and lets you import images from the clipboard or take a snapshot of your desktop to start working on it.

RealWorld Paint is a free image editor with support for layers, masks and various effects that lets you can create your own drawings and also edit photos.

Download RealWorld Paint 2011.1 in Softonic

Create calendars for any year, month or quarter Enjoy different options for calendar grid placement Choose from over 100 calendar designs and layout templates Customize events and holidays Select the font and color for calendar headings as well as month and day names Add photos either in the background or on top of text Create lunar calendars in various formats Export your work into Photoshop for professional touchups Be amazed by the high quality of your printed photo calendars

A wide choice of calendar templates Great abilities to customize the calendar User-friendly interface Saving calendars in CMYK for professional printing Make company and promotional calendars

Photo Calendar Creator is made for both home and business users. For home users: it allows to Produce gift photo calendars, add any number of photos, print without worries on your inkjet or laser printer, create desktop calendars for your PC.

Download Photo Calendar Creator 5.23 in Softonic

With WebSite X5 you don't need to be an expert coder, a Dreamweaver master or a Photoshop guru. This easy, step-by-step website creation tool walks you through the whole process of creating a website without tears.

Right after installing WebSite X5 you're presented with a neat menu where you can get an extra helping hand for your project: tutorials, website gallery, templates, forums and a complete Help center are there to assist you. Once you're working with the editor, you'll go through five different steps (General settings, Plan website, Create pages, Advanced settings and Export) until you finally create your website.

Every step included in WebSite X5 is designed to be as easy to use as possible, with forms, toolbars and icon menus included. Even better, everything can be dragged and dropped. It's not the most advanced or flexible tool around, but can definitely claim to be one of the easiest.

No clue about coding? Don’t worry, with WebSite X5 you can still create your own website in no time!

Download WebSite X5 Evolution 9.0.2 in Softonic