Well, the general trend in software would seem to bode well for your wishes. You can get free or inexpensive applications today that do most or all of what only a few years ago required expensive programs like PhotoShop, Excel, etc. So, you might expect that in a few years, Poser might indeed be more "Mayalike." On the downside, there just doesn't seem to be a lot of interest in such applications outside communities like these. Even after all these years, there is no real comparable application to Poser except the as yet unrealized potential of latecomer Daz Studio. Compared to the dizzying array of wordprocessors, photo editors, etc., Poser does really stand pretty much alone. Without a mass market of home or business users, it's hard to see huw anyone could afford the development costs necessary to create the type of application you want and still sell it for a price most of us could afford. CL has had problems staying afloat, even given Poser's more modest goals. Even if they (CL) were able afford the time and money to make a more high end application, there's no guarantee that they'd be able to achieve any more penetration into the elite and insular world of studio level CG, where people have a lot of their time and money invested in learning and supporting things like Maya and Max. Also, if you want animation, the fact is that the vast majority of Poser users it seems, don't do much animation. It seems to me that CL has a choice between developing in areas where most of their users want to go or taking a flyer on trying to break into the high end. Given a limited development budget, I think most users would opt for expanded FaceRoom functionality, easier lighting/posing/rendering, etc. ahead of animation or interfacing to high end apps. No doubt this is frustrating for those who've already hit a wall in the latter areas but CL has to pay the rent first. The best solution would have been to develop Poser 5 with a true plugin architecture, allowing others to address these areas, while CL concentrated on the core app. Maybe in Poser 6? At the moment, I just hope that CL has found a semi-permanent home and Poser continues.

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H. L. Mencken