Converting RAW to JPG

Brian,

Your questions are the same ones I had (and many more) two years ago.  Keep it up.

I worked 35mm in film and after several years absence from photography bought into digital.  I chose LR and PS CS(5) because they offered terrific "headroom" (perhaps the most in the business) for learning, exploring, etc.  This "expansive" software however, came with some cost to me; a long (albeit fun) learning process.  Sounds like you made a similar decision.

Alan