My take on all this is pretty simple. Here's the deal, as I see it 1. Someone else is coming into the market with a software which will handle poser files and figures. This is known as competition which, IMO, is usually good for a kick up the butt to a company which has cornered the market. And make no mistake about it, CL has had a monopoly on the poser software market, up until now. 2. They're giving it away free at the beta stage. This means (to me, at least) that they'll only release it when they're sure it's a working software and they're fairly confident it can be used without causing a major debacle. The beta stage will then shed light on any discrepancies, bugs or incompatabilities. And inevitably, there will be some bugs. 3. They have a fairly generally accepted reputation for quality and customer service. Speaks for itself. 4. It's in their own interests to make it work. Altruism?? DAZ has never claimed altruistic motives. They stated quite clearly at the beginning that their aim was to bring 1 million new users into the 3d market. And they expect most of those new users to buy DAZ products. To me, that's only good business sense. And what's in it to harm us, the current crop of poser users? Nada. DAZ makes more money. They have more resources for R & D, new staff and products, bigger sales, cheaper prices. Am I complaining? 5. They're being smart about plug-ins and SDKs. Letting 3rd party developers in on the action is a sure-fire way to guarantee increased interest in your own product. No disrespect to CL but, not only do they have very few agreements with other software manufacturers for plug-ins, but they won't (or can't) make the plug-ins themselves. The result? Complaints, pleas, threats and begging letters from users of Bryce, Vue, Cararra, et al. Lack of interest in poser from users of high-end apps due to zero support from CL. Bad business sense all round, IMO. If you have a product in a niche market, the best way to expand your sales is to make that product as attractive as possible to as many people as possible. And that's what DAZ are doing. They sell 3d figures. Well, here ya go folks. Here's a free software to use 'em in. What do I say to that? 'Thank ye very kindly, Sirs. I'll see if it works. And if it does, I'll use it and come back for more' mac