noob question on cropping & straightening jpegs

[trtlrock]

Hi all. I'm new here, so please forgive the entry-level questions...

I'd like advice on what program I should use to crop & straighten pics without losing any resolution, assuming that's possible. Here's my parameters:

1) use Canon A710 & A500 point & shoots.
2) Shoot in superfine, largest resolution jpeg.
3) Am not a pro, don't sell my shots.
4) Can you straighten jpegs (not rotate) without losing quality?
5) Does it matter what program I use to crop -- do they all perform identically vis-a-vis no loss of quality in the jpeg, assuming I'm not straightening?
6) Would like the program to be <$100, if possible.
7) Am not worried about adjustments to color, exposure, etc -- at least for now.
8) Needs to be simple -- don't have time for significant learning curves.
9) I NEVER print my shots, just doing slideshows on the web for friends, and showing them at home on a 720p DLP projector & a 1080p hi-quality plasma. I'll be using the HDMI out of a Sony 1080p PS3 as my home picture viewer for these TVs.
10) computer is Windows Vista Home Ultimate
11) desktop screen is hi-q 1920x1080 Dell LCD; want it to look great there too

Thanks for any advice...

[SloYerRoll]

Hey trtlrock, Welcome to DGRIN! :wave

4) Can you straighten jpegs (not rotate) without losing quality? Pixels are changed. But the change is so small, it should never be a concern. Just go ahead and straighten your image.

5) Does it matter what program I use to crop -- do they all perform identically vis-a-vis no loss of quality in the jpeg, assuming I'm not straightening? A crop is a crop, is a crop, is a crop... Saving a jpeg multiple times will cause image degradation. Your not asking about that, but that's a biggie in photography and images..

6) Would like the program to be <$100, if possible. The GIMP (http://www.gimp.org/) is free.
Photoshop Elements (http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshopelwin/) for 99.00

7) Am not worried about adjustments to color, exposure, etc -- at least for now. You will be soon enough :thumb

8) Needs to be simple -- don't have time for significant learning curves. While it can be easy. It all depends on how deep you want to delve into this world. Elements is pretty intuative though. The good thing about elements is it's the same interface as Photoshop. So if you ever get really serious. You can buy that and already hit the ground running.

9) I NEVER print my shots, just doing slideshows on the web for friends, and showing them at home on a 720p DLP projector & a 1080p hi-quality plasma. I'll be using the HDMI out of a Sony 1080p PS3 as my home picture viewer for these TVs. OK.
10) computer is Windows Vista Home Ultimate Check out this thread (http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=75639) if you have questions or cool tips!

11) desktop screen is hi-q 1920x1080 Dell LCD; want it to look great there too. What looks good on your screen depends entirely on what you take pictures of :D

Cheers,
-Jon