GIF images are compressed but the amount of compression is minimal. GIFs are also limited to 256 color values. JPEG images are compressed, but the compression scheme is lossey, e.g information in in the image is lost by compression. This loss of information causes a degredation in image quality.
If you are going to use this image in Arcview or other GIS programs, you should consider creating a GeoTIFF.
These programs are designed to manipulate images. The benefit of these programs is that some are relatively inexpensive and widely available. This software is the minimum you need to view electronic images. They can filter images, change formats, alter resolutions, print images, and crop images. The problem with this software is that it can not use any geo-spatial information. You can not use the software to link your image with any spatial databases. Some examples of these programs are:
CorelDrawThese programs are specifically designed to work with geospatial information. They are usually not as intuitive as painting and drawing programs and are usually more expensive. If you want to spatially reference your photograph this type of software is mandatory.
Some examples of these programs are: