I remember a few years ago, when Adobe 6 was being introduced, reading a letter from a man who was still using version 2 or 3 and had been for five years. His attitude was that he still hadn't learned everything he wanted to learn from the version he was using and, therefore, saw no point in upgrading.

It's rare for me to upgrade to each new version. I wasn't pleased with many problems I had with Poser 6, not the least of which was constricted memory - and I did jump to 7. But I still haven't left C4D 9 (with upgrades at $3500 a pop). And I just recently moved from Adobe 6 to CS4; there was a huge leap, lol.  The point is, these are increasing complicated and feature-rich pieces of software...it's downright silly to abandon what I've just begun to explore.

At one time, software updates were released when major major changes were introduced - and users were supported with patches in meantime. New features were often introduced by patch and tested with users before being integrated into the next version. Now, way too often, updates are released to give developers something to sell - with less than stunning changes. Virtually every company is releasing it's annual "new version."

I understand the business model, but the solution to screw the customer one more time is a sad one.

And I also think we have to keep the  DAZ merger in mind here, and remember that DAZ has other things to keep themselves busy - like realigning staff. I don't think they're thinking in terms of the best support they can provide, they're thinking in terms of what's the minimum they can get away with because they just don't WANNA. This ain't new, most major businesses adopted that model in the early to mid-nineties.

And I LIKE DAZ, been a customer of theirs for years, lol. Doesn't mean I'm always happy with them or any other self-serving corporation..