By nature I am not an evangelist but when seeing your new poll I was really disapointed not to see Picture Window Pro from http://www.dl-c.com included in the list.
For all those who want high end editing capabilities (including full 16 bit support) but do not want to pay for or have the pain of learning Photoshop, Picture Window Pro at $90 is a must try application (Free for 30 days).
Indeed Mark, it would be nice if you could review it just to see how a hardened Photoshop man likes its way of working.
there are great tutorials at the site and also some really excellent information at www.normankoren.com
Have a try
Andrew