Photoshop the ($600 one) is what I use for all my graphic work. It took me about a year to master and have been using it for about 6 years now. I would not recommend it for slide shows.
Photoshop Album is a great program for that.
Adobe Photoshop Album However I really think the best working program for beginners is "Microsoft's Plus Digital Media" Its made for WIndows XP and with the new SP2 it works great. It's only $19.00 and works for not only picture slide shows but video as well.
Here is the link
Microsoft Plus for XP
