Exactly my point, I love the way 2.5 is going but there are still too many things still to work on. I download a build once a week to see what has been fixed but even with the missing and broken stuff its getting sweet and I do enjoy using it for the simple models but for serious work I still use 2.49.

But like anything it depends on which program works with you. I decided to learn Blender initially because it was a challenge to start off with but when I started to learn my way about it just clicked with me and learning the shortcuts just seemed to come naturally, to the point now that I use them without thinking in other programs and wonder why nothing happens?? :-)

The original question was essentially how long does it take to get around in Blender. The answer really is the same as everything else. How much time are you prepared to put into it?

Laurie I believe uses Wings but I could never get on with it so dropped it after a couple of months. Just not prepared to invest the time.

Another thing to remember is that Blender has no automatic save of anything as it assumes that the user knows what they're doing so the maxim save often rings true here. Bad memories of losing nearly two hours of hard work there.....

On a personal note, I think its a brave decision by the Foundation to do a complete core re-write, not something that most companies would do, even if it is really necessary.