Graphics, Video and Sound Editing Software on the Desktop

My primary one is Paint Shop Pro, but it costs about $80. There is 30 day free trial offer. It is a lot cheaper than Adobe Photo Shop and somewhat cheaper than Adobe Photo Shop Elements. When you first open it, you are in a confusing introduction. To get to where you want to be (and where it will default to in the future), under Workspaces select "Complete".

For more casual users I recommend Picasa (from Google) or Paint.NET. Both are free. I definitely prefer Paint.NET. Paint.NET can also be download from the Microsoft Store app on your PC. That version costs $7.99. If you download the free version be careful you do not accidently get unwanted software with it.

All photo editing software have a fairly steep learning curve so be prepared. I once paid about $350 for a Adobe Photo Shop class and the main takeaway was the clone brush but just that knowledge was worth $350 to me. If you do not know that tool, Google it along with the photo editing software you are using. It is a fantastic tool to use for fixing blemishes in photos.

GIMP 2 http://www.gimp.org/ Free
Very good at converting between various graphics formats including from .PDF to .JPG
It is not as strait forward as it might be.
To load the file into GIMP use FILE>OPEN
You then are presented with a "Import from PDF" window where you define the sixe of the image you want to map the PDF file onto. This controls the resolution.
I typically put in 2000 to 5000 for the width leaving the height and Resolution alone. The Resolution setting is only used if you choose to print the image out in its "original" size. Then click on IMPORT.

If the image does not have a lot of dental than 2000 is adequate and results in a much smaller file, in one example it cut the file size from 2.3 Mb to 0.8 MB with an almost imperceptible loss of quality.
To save the image as a JPG file, FILE>EXPORT then give the file a name ending in .JPG
Then click EXPORT. A dialog window will open asking what quality you want. This is basically how much you want the file compressed. I typically use 80.

Another trap with GIMP is if you want to go back and try reading the image with a different resolution, you have to close the original image out or it will just read it with the old resolution.

PDFill PDF Tools 9.0 is also a good program to convert PDF files to JPG files as well as other tricks with PDF files. This is also free.

Tux Paint, A paint program designed for Children 3 and up.
http://www.download.com/Tux-Paint/3000-2132_4-10328696.html?hhTest&tag=lst-1&cdlPid=10816165 I have looked at it but not tried it with kids.

Sound Editing

Audacity (An audio file manipulation program) I have not tried it yet but it looks good.
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ It does not currently (10/1/08) support .WMA(Windows Media Player) files.

Video Editing

Windows Live Movie Maker, or Windows Live Movie Maker, you probably already have it. Type movie in the search box or START > PROGRAMS > WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER in Windows XP. If not, it free from Microsoft. One problem with it is that it will only output files as .WMV files. WMV which is a Microsoft developed format and Apple computers an phones can not read. The big advantage of this program is that you can rotate the image so you can rotate a landscape image to portrait or invert a video that you inadvertently recorded upside down. You can input files in a wide variety of formats. I am so used to doing this with pictures that I get caught when I take a movie and if it fits better in Portrait, I just shoot it that way then have trouble displaying it. When you go to save the file (the icon one in from the right side) use the drop down menu to pick the size of the image, it defaults to a huge size. 640 by 480 ("For my Computer) is usually adequate and is a lot bigger than Facebook displays. You can load bigger files to Facebook, they will automatically cut it down to size.

VLC Media Player, free Can edit video files more promising than Windows Media Player, Will also work with DVD movies, PC Magazine April 2010
I used it to convert .WMV files to .MP4 files so iTunes and my iPhone could read it. The one trick is that when you specify your desired output file name you must include the extension such as .MP4 so select a compatible file format.
To convert a file format you do not have to load the file first. Just click on MEDIA > CONVERT/SAVE > ADD > CONVERT/SAVE (in the lower right corner) > BROWSE (to choose where the file will go, give it a name and an extension (from the approved list below such as MP4) It will not output .MOV files and does not have the capability to rotate the image.

Handbreak Back up DVD to your hard drive PC Magazine 2010 recommendation. http://handbrake.fr/

Edit digital Videos with Avidemux, http://www.download.com/Avidemux/3000-13631_4-10829933.html?hhTest&tag=lst-1&cdlPid=10857009 Have not tried.

Picture organizing software
I believe in sorting out my pictures my self.