IMHO, an essential point is missed in the excellent comments above, although JKeller is damn close. The essential point of Poser is to provide for 3D animation what HTML has provided for the internet: a standard format for integrating and orchestrating content. Just as you can integrate text, sound and images with HTML for use in any browser, you can integrate 3D content from any number of 3D apps easily with Poser. All you have to do is "package" your contribution according to the Poser standard, and away you go. I know of no other packages that allow you to simply load pre-baked content from a dozen different sources and use it straight away - and I've tried out a lot of packages, and read a lot about even more of them. If I see the trend correctly, the 3D scene is fragmenting and specializing just like the rest of the IT business. Noone can be a jack-of-all trades any more, and many studios use more and more ready-made content from outside sources, such as mocap files, "clipart" models from model banks, and so on. Most, if not all, of the existing 3D apps, from Maya downwards, are not designed for this "object-oriented" approach. I think Poser has the potential to be the HTML of the 3D world. Poser is not the perfect answer, just as HTML was not - but just compare the internet before and after HTML to see the impact such an integrations feature can have. That seems to be why Curious concentrated on offering this easy integration to the big boys in PPP, instead of going for Poser 5. It may also be why Poser savvy just might be a selling point on you resume in the not too distant future. I know that almost all the animations you see in magazine articles are done with Maya and the other greats - but when looking at all of those that include figures, I can't help comparing them to the imagery seen in the forum galleries and think : where was Poser when those Maya and Max animators needed it? ;-)