First, to get the Alpha you need to be a DAZ Platinum Club Member. These were dropped into PC member account boxes on Christmas Eve as a little Holiday Goodie. But there was still a problem with the MAC version, so as far as I know, that still hasn't been released. (A day or so later the Alpha was also handed out to DAZ Model Brokers so that they could begin testing it with their own current or planned future releases). The BETA version will be the actual "Official" start towards DAZ Studio 1.0 How DAZ plans to handle that is not yet completely clear, but they had previously suggested that the BETA would be widely distributed for FREE via their website. But they may have been thinking in terms of the FINAL version, since the ALPHA alone has caused a certain amount of "Freaking Out" as users discover that YES, it actually has some BUGS (as DAZ said it would) and that there are DRIVER issues, most commonly fixed by getting the latest ones AND upgrading to a MODERN OS- like XP or Win2KPro. It sure surprised me how many people have had to be convinced (as some still aren't) that using a modern 21st Century Operating System would make both DAZ STUDIO and Poser run a lot better. Windows 98 was created in the late 1990's, for God Sakes! As far as supporting other higher-end software like C4D, etc. DAZ has (or soon will) release a software SDK so people can write Plug-Ins. This means too that companies that write Plug-Ins for MAX, LW and C4D could then create and offer their own Daz Studio to "Software X" solution. Also, people who make Cel-Shade and Fur-Hair Plug-Ins could use the SDK to offer their SFX and rendering solutions to DAZ Studio users. So expect DAZ Studio to be a "Busy Intersection" of Plug-In offerings by a variety of 3rd Party groups. I personally think that Poser itself will be around for quite some time as a software UTILITY for Daz Studio. And for those can't afford modern OS's and graphics cards, they might just want to remain with Poser "artist" (as the older P4 version is now called by Curious Labs) and NEVER even go on to DAZ Studio. I think Daz Studio is a "Cut Above" Poser as a modern 2004 program and some people will be LEFT BEHIND. However, DAZ will be picking up LOTS of people who use higher-end software (and spend more money on RAM, Graphics Cards, Fast machines, etc.- so it's a smart place to be headed as model content gets more detailed and complex.) DAZ Studio will be GEARED to that marketplace.