Freeware apps like ANIM8OR can create bones for figures to animate them WITHIN Anim8or - is there an app that can EXPORT the bones as being included WITH the . obj file?
NEW MODELLER WANTS TO KNOW!!!

I needs bones baby! One's that will work in DAZ STUDIO so as I canz makes a cool posey poseable figure - pose it in DS - and export it as a Bryce useable.

If not - THEN POINT ME TO A FREE COPY OF POSER 4 (preferable not an offer that's already been expired for a year).

I'm sorry to say I'm not very big on using D/S. Can it handle a poser figure file... what extension is that.... umm... .pz3 or something?  Is it possible to make a skeleton in a pose then open the poser file in D/S to pose it some more there?

Rigging is not included in an .obj. 
As soon as you export, you lose the bones.
Don't know much about Poser; but I believe the .cr2 carries the rigging information. AFAIK, you need Poser to make Poser figures.

Just about everything with rigging is expensive. I have Poser 4 Pro. There is a program called Mover in freestuff. It will let you copy the bones from one figure to another as long as all the parts are in the same position. The transferred rigging is still copyrighted however.

There is a freeware program called milkshape. It will export figures and bones for quake, halflife and other games, (not poser though).

the free blender has good rigging, can daz import collada? seems a new 3d anim standard?

I'm kinds surprised that by now with Poser 7.0 out that a Free Poser 4 hasn't been (permanantly) been offered. (like Bryce 5.0)

have you tried the free (v3.??) of Truespace from Caligari? You can save as an Object file I think? There is a forum here if you want ot quizz them. Jenny

I just need to rig my characters and objects so that DAZ STUDIO can pose them. I wish DAZ STUDIO allowed you to rig characters - then as far as I'm concerned who would need Poser?

Bryce 7 is already going to have posing, maybe it will have rigging too. [fingers crossed]
Then there would be no need for either rat poison (Poser) or arsenic (D|S).

LOL! :-) 

That would be great. I feel so much more at ease manipulating objects in Bryce than I do in either of those two.

Why do you need to use D/S. Blender will rig and you can render etc with it. If you want to spend money you can get what I use now it is a rigging fool. PMG messiah is $299.  Excellent render quality, fast intuitive rigging. There are top end apps too but more money. Messiah I feel is a bit easier because that is all it is rendering and rigging no modeler you have to make them yourself or download them. I take it you did not download poser 5 when it was free.

content paradise had Poser 5 free for awhile. I think it may still be available somewhere. Check in the Poser forum, they'd probably have a better idea.

Doesn't the free app called Phi Builder do rigging?