I agree with the majority here. I've been using Poser since version 1, and it has come SUCH a long way. I applaud the developers for making a program that allows us artists to incorporate humans and animals (and combinations thereof) into our artwork with very little effort. Initially I got it so that I could incorporate humans into my other 3D work with Max or Bryce (or any other 3D app), because right now I can't model a human figure that's worth a hill of beans . But I have SO much fun with Poser on its own that I find I literally use it daily. I, too, have learned a lot from Poser. But the biggest value that I find in it is having the ability to create an ENDLESS number of different characters. The stuff that comes "in the box" is sufficient to create them yourself if you want to really dig in and get your elbows dirty with morphs, magnets, and other modifications. But for those of us that don't want to deal with all the techy stuff there are always the freebies and other add-ons that you can download or purchase through the various Poser-related community Web sites. There is indeed great value for the money -- go out and price how much it would cost if you went out and purchased a male, female, child, and baby model, along with a various assortment of animals (dog, cat, horse, lion, wolf, dinosaur, fish, snake, etc). Add to that the time that it would take for you to make each one of those models posable in your 3D software. On top of that, add the time it would take to create clothes and hair for those people. And the add-on characters that are now coming from DAZ3D as well as other community members make it that much MORE cool ... Michael, Victoria, the upcoming Victoria 2, Natalia, Natrixa, Solondra, and all the Michael and Vicki variations add so much more to the package if you want to pick up the extras. I have experienced more pleasure out of this one single 3D app than I have with any other graphics program I own. Max included. And for that, I thank the folks at CL and hope we see Poser for a long time to come. Denise