Thread: Improved Windows Paint

Windows' ancient, bare-bones graphics program, Paint, finally gets a thorough remodeling in Windows 7, complete with a jazzy new Ribbon inter-face (very similar to the one that people either love or hate in Office 2007), additional brush and shape choices, and various small but meaningful tweaks.

Though you can't obtain Windows 7 Paint in Vista or XP, several similar Vista- and XP-compatible programs are even better. Regular PC World readers have seen us talk frequently of the open-source GIMP and the freeware Paint. Net , two Photoshop caliber image editors. Either of these apps can run circles around Win 7's Paint, and neither will cost you a dime.

Too fancy for you? Try a Web-based paint program. Two good free options are Pixlr and Sumo Paint.