photoshop is easy to use if you want to just play round with photos [adjust contrast, apply filters etc].. you just need someone to show you the basics..
but it's a professional program, the defacto standard for all digital artists so it can extremely powerful and flexible.. but to get to that sort of level you need a lot of dedication [or an intensive course]..
i've been using it for years and i still don't know half the functions..
maori_M:
not really [re: flash] as they're two different beasts.
flash and other vector based programs [freehands, illustrator] do things mathematically, eg a line is described mathematically so can be scaled up and down infinitely without losing resolution.. you make images using 'objects' etc and fills and gradients are done mathematically for example..
photoshop is raster based, meaning it's like painting with pixels so things like resolution count..
there's a bit of crossover, but the approach is fundamentally different.
vector is better for things like graphic logos, lettering etc [cause at any size it will scale without losing anything, ie clean and crisp edges]
raster is better for things like image manipulation.
knowing both really is best.