Boy do I like Linux now. Just restored the laptop and is now in process of remove the amount of crap that the manufacture thinks that I need.
I have just installed the same program on Mint and Win 8
win 8 : open browser, find website where said free program lives, download, double click on file, click ok to that I'm about to run said file, click ok for some user agreement, click ok for something that I wasn't sure about - install already will you!!! wait 8 - 10 min while installation happens, find that there is two, oh I'm wrong three extra programs installed, use said program.
Linux : open terminal, type sudo apt-get install gimp, hit enter, type password, type y and hit enter, wait 2 min while program download and install, use program.
Oh then there is the fe<beep>ing nag screens every time you restart....