I can see this is being a major question.. "What program do you use to design schematic and board?" someone should make a dedicated thread and I'll make it sticky
I've got the program issues under control on my end (for now anyway). I'm trying to make some simple circuits in the most popular simulators and then I'll comment on how easy it was to use, and what types of circuits work best. I'm almost half way through the list. Just a little longer, be patient nkay (Express PCB is a good designer, but it won't do any simulation)
Protel 99SE and a completely obscure (but userfriendly) EZ-Route for PCB work. LT Spice and Multisim 2001 for sim., #2B and paper to doodle and create. E