I use Picasa for photo management, it's basic and there are a few features I would like adding, but it's very quick and simple to use and supports non-destructive editing. I highly recommend this.
I like Silkypix for RAW conversion, I just feel as though I get more natural results with it without having to spend a long time on each image. I don't really like the interface though, so I hope this is the one thing that will be improved in the new version (hopefully imminent).
Also have access to Photoshop CS3 at work. It's a massive application with sharp learning curve, but it is possible to achieve amazing results if you spend a little time working with it - there are a lot of useful 'How to' videos on the adobe web-site. I really like the 'photo merge' feature for creating panorama's!
The one application I haven't tried that does look good is Bibble 5 but as I am still learning how to use Silkypix and Photoshop effectively so I'm not going to be adding this any time soon.
I'm using 2 PC's (Laptop - Win XP, Intel 2.2Ghz Duo, 4Gb RAM / Desktop - Win XP, Intel P4 3Ghz, 4Gb RAM) and both run all the above without any issues at all. Photoshop really needs as much memory as possible.
Last edited by woodworm; 11-04-2008 at 03:49 AM.
Reason: typo :)