Quote -

Also, a second question...is DS3 capable of network rendering? I haven't seen anything about that in the promo material I've seen.

if DS3 is still using the 3Delight Engine, then there's a licensing issue that prevents network rendering.

the issue being you get 1 seat free, then it costs after that. about a grand a time...

to quote from 3Delight :

The first 3Delight license is free of charge. This is a fully functional two threads license that is liable for commercial use and can be downloaded here. No support is included with the free license but can be purchased for 250 USD.

For all additional licenses:
 

• The cost is 1,000 USD for a two threads license and 1,500 USD for a four threads license.
• Support is 190 USD per license per year for the two threads license and 285 USD for the four threads license. Support includes free upgrades and e-mail support.
• All licenses are floating.

this is also why I can't install DS anyway... I use 3Delight with trueSpace...