Barry, regarding the drawing package....I personally hold that the very best drawing package is the one you are most comfortable using. I suppose vector drawing packages are quite good, but I personally am much more comfortable using bitmap programs. I suspect it is because the first computer-assisted drawing I did was with a C-64, and the first machine drawing I ever did was on an etch-a-sketch (just shortly after they first came on the market). A psychologist could have a field day investigating this, but I suspect for old fogies like myself, bitmap programs are much more compatible with the technical skill sets of us seasoned citizens who first learned technical drawing on an actual drawing board using pen, ink, T-square, and all those other quaint old items gathering dust in the far corner of the attic. Vectors for drawing just ain't natcheral, gol dangit....vectors is for force diagrams. I have Corel Draw versions 1 through 9, Draw Plus, and a couple other vector-based programs, but regardless of how good they are reputed to be, I don't feel nearly as comfortable with them than I am with Image Forge, PSP Pro, or Paintshop. I also much prefer the final results of bitmapped images than vector images. Maybe for much the same reason, regardless of how technically superior my kids tell me digital music is, I still prefer the warmth and richness of the sound produced by my old analog vinyl (scratches and all)....digital may be absolutely the sharpest, most perfect sound recording possible, but it has no soul. I feel the same way about vector-based images. An "inferior" program that you are comfortable using is far more useful to you than is a "technically superior" program that makes you feel like it is fighting you every step of the way. Whatever works for you is always the best for you. (I still think you should give Image Forge a try, though.) To quote the great philosopher R. Nelson, "you gotta please yourself."