Digital Cameras & their Software/Drivers/Photo Programs

I have three digital cameras. Does every computer need drivers for these cameras or does the drivers come with their photo album?

Can I use one photo program to use all three cameras?

How would I get the drivers for each camera on the computer without their photo programs so that the photo program can import the images from the camera?

My Canon Zoom browser only sees my Canon camera. My Nikon Picture Project only sees my Nikon.

Don't want all these programs to use with separate programs.

Don't even like photo programs.

Why even bother installing anything that comes with a camera?

Just use a card reader and save to your hard drive and use whatever picture manager or photo editing program you like.

However most modern cameras can be used directly with Xp by setting the cameras transfer / usb setting to PTP mode(*) and connecting the camera to the computer.

XP should recognise the camera as essentially another drive.

(*)
PTP Mode (Picture-Transfer-Protocol)

PTP Mode is a connection method that does not require the installation of any digital camera drivers for camera-computer communication

I use the card reader method my self with my Kodak. I will not buy a camera that requires installation of it's own software...

I will look into that mode of transferring. I uninstalled the Nikon Picture Project. It imported all my pictures from Canon Zoom Browser or My Pictures and made complete duplicates of the pictures.

I think I have brain damage trying to figure this all out.

I deleted all the dupes and created folders in My Pictures of the new Nikon Pictures. So back to work on this setting.

Ok I set it at PTP but it works better as a Mass Storage deal. It actually shows the pictures with the Mass Storage setting. With PTP it shows icons.
Thanks.