Photoshop-ing an image can means many thing, from photo retouch, sophisticated manipulation to simple crop-resize job. The word originally came from name of a software (Adobe Photoshop, duh) which quickly deemed as a standard tool in the industry. It is a ‘prosumer’ level software used by artist, web designer, photographer, anyone from amateur, enthusiast to professionals. The features come to a price though, the cheapest distribution for Photoshop CS4 ranges from $199-$399 (student prices). And for others, photoshop cost you at least $699. If you want to get all the bells and whistle – then you need to pay $999. Photoshop comes with awesome features, but unless you’re a professional, most probably you won’t ever need them. Adobe comes up with the ‘consumer’ level software Adobe Photoshop Elements which only cost you $99.

Here’s some great “photoshop-ing” alternatives if  (like me) you think $99 is still too costly:

GIMP and Aviary

• GIMP - yes, open source! Originally came from Unix world, it became so popular that its now released on all major platform. A good and free photoshop alternatives, but the interface and work-steps can be confusing if you’re already so used to Photoshop.
• Aviary.com – serve “advanced hobbyist creators”. They are awesome web applications. Phoenix is a great Photoshop alternative, Raven is for vector / Adobe Illustrator alternative, Peacock is a revolutionary tool – must try, Toucan is similar to Adobe Kuler.

And for the enthusiasts fix-redeye-crop-filter-delete users, these three tools should fit your need:

Picnik, Picasa3 and Photoshop Express

• PICASA 3 – A desktop application (available on Win, Mac and Linux), can do most of the simple day-to-day stuff. Creates great collage, luv their screensaver.
• Picnik.com - similar to Picasa, but it’s a web application. It has more to offer than Picasa. Check out their filters…
• Photoshop Express – similar to Picnik. Still in beta..

I highly recommend you to read this post if you want to know how these online photo editors differ.