Which program do you use for pixels?

[Speed-X]

Speaking of using other programs alongside the main one, I do as well. Transparency in GG is a bit of a pain to figure out, so I just do that in Paint.NET. I also tend to use MS Paint for scans, copying + pasting stuff into the canvas, and etc. However, I just can't sprite in Paint anymore because I'm so used to being able to zoom in, like, x1200. xD
Non-90 degree rotations can be a bit of a pain if you don't have the right program, I agree.

Gors: Thanks! Yeah, that's better.
Game Maker? Interesting. For animating I always used to use Microsoft GIF animator...it is a great animator overall, but it tends to distort your colors just a tiny bit. Plus some other quirks. I guess it's just better in GG because you can actually edit and compare each frame as you go along, all in one. So convenient, and I agree with you on the fact that I can't really see myself using any other animating program anymore.

Yeah, at first I really hated the Win7 Paint. Like, with a passion. But after a while I forced myself to get used to it; anyway, I had tried to replace that version of Paint with the Vista one several times (really took a liking to the version on Win Vista), but sadly to no avail.