Paint.Net

[Saber]

Paint.Net
Paint.NET is free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows. It features an intuitive and innovative user interface with support for layers, unlimited undo, special effects, and a wide variety of useful and powerful tools. An active and growing online community provides friendly help, tutorials, and plugins.

Useful plugins:
Icon/Cursor (.ico/.cur) Plugin
Conditional Hue
OptiPNG File (Small & Optimized PNGs)
Animated Gifs/PNGs Plugin

It's a great alternative to Photoshop, and doesn't take 20 hours to load.

[hallsofvallhalla]

wow that it is nice. Thanks for the link!

[Utohaha]

good, free paint program

[Jhon]

I always use this.

Have for about 4 months.

[kyraneth]

I have Gimp and paint.net installed. And most of the time, when i don't want my hair to go white before i finish the project, i use paint.net

[Sakar]

I'll check it out, but since I have PS I likely won't switch. Looks cool though. Nice free alternative.