I hate to step into this thing because I don't want BigSerge to take personal offense, but I think his friend is pulling a scam. CD's can be faked too easily. Did you get the manuals and Dongle for this program? I don't think you can even resell a student version of MAX. The following is from the FAQ of a MAX newsgroup. >Q: Is there a demo of 3D Studio MAX Rx.x available? A: No. Today there is only a full retail version and a student version of 3D Studio MAX. Both costs money. The limitations on the student version is that you can not use it for commercial purpose but otherwise it's a full featured version (i.e. no parts are taken out) and by the way, it DO come with real manuals. The student version just shows a splat screen when you start MAX that states that the version is not for commercial purpose. In the past two years I believe they've changed the rules regarding 3DS Max student licenses -- they are non-transferable, meaning you can't sell your copy once you've bought it (you can sell the professional version). The good news is that upgrading to a professional license from a student license is cheaper than buying a new professional license -- or so the salesperson told. Other than the actual applications the best you can manage without having to pay anything is a non-interactive demo CD that Kinetix will send you for free if you ask on their site www.ktx.com. Perhaps you can get a reseller to show you the program in action, but there are no guarantees. and here's more from http://cg.cs.tu-berlin.de/faq/3ds.faq ---4. Educational Purchasing Information --- - You get the education discount from an Autodesk representative that serves your school. I told the CAD support person the college I go to and the city it's located in, and they gave me the company name, representative to ask for, and the phone number to get hold of them. - If you are an undergrad, you can only buy up to 3DS version 2.0; if you are a graduate student or faculty, you can buy up to 3DS version 3.0. The cost of the software will be given by your representative, not from AutoDesk. This explains a few of the differences in prices I got from the responses of people from the net (anywhere from $795 to $895.) - You cannot upgrade the software (say from version 3.0 to version 4.0) but you do get bug fix upgrades. - It is a full working version with manuals and disks, and includes 1 CD-ROM disk and 1 hard key (there is a hardware lock which they have on all 3DS software, not just the educational ones, but retail as well.) - The software is for non-commercial use only. If you plan to use 3DS for commercial use, they give a $100 coupon with the Educational discount that allows you to trade in the Education copy plus the $100 coupon to take off the full price of the retail product. - You do not get free technical support. You will have to call your local representative and pay. There is a 900 number. (norkus@rtsg.mot.com)