I still have never seen anywhere where Daz states they are going to release Studio for FREE. What I have read is the following:

"Prior to the release of DAZ|Studio 1.0, the base version will be made available as a free beta for an undetermined period of time until it is solid."

This is a common practice that allows potential customers to test drive the beta version (time limited usually) until the solid core version is finalized at which time the beta version life has expired. If companies run into snags and they need a longer development cycle they usually will supply patches for the beta version extending it for a predetermined time. The advantage to the customer is that they get to try out the latest and greatest before anyone else does. The advantage to the company is they receive more R for R&D then the department would be able to conduct themselves. Thus saving the company time and money.

Daz being a for profit company, from what I read, states they intend to persue this route. So if you think that Daz is going to be giving away a free "Poser" you better start saving up your money now.