Photoshop died on me.... i'm screwed!

[bizarre]

photoshop 4.0, which is what i've been using all these years, has finally gone tits up. the cd is scratched to shit, even after i used the cd repair kit on it, but(got it for free from a lady who worked at adobe, mucho suave move by me, hehe...) i got a few good years' worth of use out of it.

So now, aside from mspaint and painter (useless because i dont have a stylus, damn dog likes to eat the most expensive things in the house) i have nothing to edit my scans with. which is bad.

are there any free programs around, like gimp or whatever that is, that i can use? can you suggest some? I'll probably end up spending the $700 for photoshop 6... and another $100 for a new stylus... but until then, got any ideas?

[Pencil Soldier]

get the upgrade to photoshop, and find an old version for cheap somewheres.

[strych9ine]

You are missing out on a shitload of features PS has to offer. Hopefully you have PS on your comp, because you can upgrade to 7.0 for around $150 bucks US. Not a bad deal, man, especially for the vast amounts of improvements done in the last four releases.

[Blind]

Have you contacted Adobe? Maybe if you explain they'll let you go one of their upgrade paths for much less?

[Bloodstone]

Can't you download it as a back-up and use your own serial?