I have to fully agree with Matt Ronge's opinion. Photoshop is a professional tool, and though it is quite user friendly (in contrast to most of the opinions here), it is not made to be "understood" by all users.
If you want a simple image processing program - you can find a whole bunch of such programs. But if you are a professional - complaning or not that it is one of the most loathed applications or that it is monolithic, slow, clunky interface, hidden functionality - you will not find a better alternative. Just because there isn't. And it is not because it will be hard for the competitors to take over the market. It is not because everybody knows what Photoshop is. It is because Adobe developers have achieved their product with years of development - something that is almost impossible or at least too hard to catch up for a month or a year spent in coding.
by Maria Vang — Jan 12
If you want a simple image processing program - you can find a whole bunch of such programs. But if you are a professional - complaning or not that it is one of the most loathed applications or that it is monolithic, slow, clunky interface, hidden functionality - you will not find a better alternative. Just because there isn't. And it is not because it will be hard for the competitors to take over the market. It is not because everybody knows what Photoshop is. It is because Adobe developers have achieved their product with years of development - something that is almost impossible or at least too hard to catch up for a month or a year spent in coding.