I bought Photo Mechanic because the instructor at a class I took said it was the choice of the pros. I have dropped it in favor of two freebies...
Try Picasa 3
Picasa 3: Free download from Google or Windows Live Photo Gallery
Windows Live Photo Gallery for organizing your photos and use the extra money for something useful. I have used Picasa for quite a while and prefer it to the clunky Photo Mechanic primarily because it will search my entire system including network (NAS) drives based on keyword or other search parameter whereas Photo Mechanic only searches the current folder in Windows. Both also have some basic editing capability but you will need Photoshop, et al for serious editing. Give them a try...the price is excellent.
