i meant it more as a representative thing, i know paint doesn't save in .ico format, but you don't need a 500$ program to make them. and wait, are you saying that selling icons will make more money than making art with photoshop? or that enough people make icons to actually justify even having this argument? how the hell does that work?
i'm not saying format compatibility is bad, but why would you go with a lesser version of a program just so you could get a few more somewhat esoteric filetypes?
what i WAS pointing out is that you don't go into graphics design to work in the shitty free version of photoshop, you work WITH photoshop. can you imagine walking into a design firm and saying that you don't know photoshop, i just know gimp? they'll throw you out on your ass. it's like showing up as a musician to a gig and saying that you only know how to communicate by whispering, not talking. you still get the point across, but there's SO MUCH MORE out there that you can't take advantage of because you haven't taken the time to figure it out.