it was very good tool

Why do i think a non-advanced users 5 minute try of GIMP would be
useful to you [if you're a beginner too]?
It's because the GIMP reviews i've seen are mostly by 'power users' who
can't see software from a beginners perspective.

They all miss a simple but lethal omission in GIMP: *Its Help isn't Searchable!*. Doh! That turns a powerful yet free delight into a useless frustrating curiosity. Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!

If you're learning a new program, especially a powerful one with
a non-standard interface [!], searchable help is absolutely vital [unless you have a lot of spare time and don't mind manually combing through Help sections and/or internet for the info you need].
Yes you could OS search engine its Help folder to reach results, but if
you repeat those added steps a few hundred times i think you'll see my
point.
A simple example: i'd just installed GIMP and wanted to join two jpeg's
[actually, 2 misaligned parts of one image]. So i fired up GIMP, opened
Help, found no search form and gave up after 5 minutes, cursing.
I didn't expect PhotoShop, but i did expect basic functionality, which
GIMP delivers poorly, due to this gap.
GIMP programmers aren't alone- documentation is a notorious coder
blind spot; they think it's an easy and/or unimportant afterthought [Us Real Men learned the hard way, so suck it up newbie!]
Programmers! People who are better than you at complex challenges, but worse than you at simple ones.

I'm having a lot of problems with GIMP 2.6.8 crashing on windows XP, when working on raw files converted with UFRaw. I have 1.24G of RAM - do I need to change any settings in GIMP?

How can I open image PNG 32bpp to RGB565?

how do i know if i have Ubuntu?

For shannon: If you have Ubuntu, download the following entries:

Ubuntu 8.10 DEB i386
Ubuntu 8.10 DEB i386 (libgimp)
Ubuntu 8.10 DEB ALL (Data)

when i click download it has lots of arrows , which do i choose?

Installs perfectly in Ubuntu and Fedora Linux, Windows XP and Vista as well, it is the most powerful free image editor and as CNET said "eminently comparable to Photoshop" which I believe as well, in fact better than Photoshop in my opinion, for average users.

A much more comprehensive review of GIMP 2.6.1 is at InaTux.com: http://www.inatux.com/reviews/GIMP2.6.1review

It wouldn't install because itsaid it needed something called gecko-lib...

Another installment until 2.4.
It get's better with every edition.
It's the same things as photoshop except with difference icons and feature placement.
Also,It stable and doesn't crash.

Development Release 2.3.4 of The Gimp is a beta version.
2.2.8 will be the latest stable release until version 2.4.x.