Quote - The same folks who make Ford F150 pick-ups also make Jaguars -- clearly catering to two very different markets at the same time.

Apples/Oranges comparison: Ford and Bechtel are gigantic corporations, and don't have the same mechanics of production and design as software. Companies of EF and DAZ' size don't have the luxury of stocks, R&D departments, massive cash reserves, legal departments (because software patents are 'teh suck'), test markets, focus groups, etc.

Yet even there, you often see products that simply get orphaned (Corel has one hell of an impressive graveyard, which once included Bryce for a time. If DAZ hadn't bought it, odds are very good that it would be abandonware by now. Don't believe me? Look up "Canoma").

Quote - Companies -- including software companies -- have the ability to diversify.  In fact, in today's economy it's a very good idea for them to do so. 

Say that you're a company with 30-40 employees total, probably less. You have an annual budget that requires careful attention towards chasing down every stray dime. Each new programmer is guaranteed to pack at least $60k+ / yr onto your overhead. How many can you afford to throw at something new again when you have existing products to shepard along?

Thought so.

Quote - I'm not a programmer, so I haven't worked for any software houses.

Nor (apparently) have you ever had to run a small business and make it grow. Not an insult, just a statement.

It's a whole different world in there, 'mano... with a whole bucket of different rules and dynamics.

Quote - Once again: we'll see what e-frontier does.  I'll admit to the possibility that this new software package could ultimately turn out to be a disappointment.......such is life.  And it's conceivable that e-frontier could, long-term, dump its hobbyist products in favor of a totally pro market (although I strongly doubt it).

For the former, who knows? That depends on the product, how useful it can be to the target market, how solid/buggy it is, etc etc.

For the latter? Depends on how lucrative things are. If they see a flush of money and potential coming from the pros (or pro-level buyers), then that's where they're going to point their ship.

Quote - But I won't make such negative assumptions in advance -- and then treat them as foregone conclusions.

Nor will I. Me, my current interests stretch only as far as what I can get poser stuff to do in either D|S (primarily) or P6.

Quote - I know how I'm betting.  E-frontier might fumble the ball.  But I'd advise them not to --- and based upon their growth record so far -- even with all of the sound & fury which has accompanied it -- I'm anticipating good things.

The really fun part is, I'm not in the biz insofar as Poserdom... I swim with bigger fish nowadays; folks who think nothing of dropping a metric ton of cash onto whatever they deem needed and necessary. No makey here shrug.

That said, I've seen and known the smaller houses, and I know the balancing acts they get to perform. But then, the bigger risk often leads to bigger reward if it's calculated right.

/P