Quote - I agree it probably has something to do with the Cloud. Everything new has something to do with the Cloud these days. But I can't imagine what would have them so amped up as to put out this kind of hyperbole in advance. We already download doftware and content. DS users already check in with the mothership every time they launch the app (as do Poser users). What's the big deal about another Internet-based function?

Unless Daz plans to give every user access to every other user's 3D content... A universal runtime available to all. Nah, vendors would stage a bloody revolt. Bur it's an intriguing idea that would both change the game and shake the industry.

It would be the final stage of the CMS thing. The content would reside only within DAZ servers (no piracy possible), you would buy just the right to access it thru your client program (or, maybe, a WebGL enabled browser). On your disk would reside only the DSFs which contain the recipies to put content together. When you are ready, you would ask for a render, which would be done on a DAZ render farm.

I want to make very clear that I would not wish such architecture even on my worst enemy.

My take is that DAZ is going to be merged with a game (or game SDK) company. Consider e.g. the UDK: inside it you find SpeedTree to create plants and its own procedural building generator; Genesis tech would become the character engine. It would even make sense (e.g. Studio is written in C++, like the UDK).

GIMP 2.7.4, Inkscape 0.48, Genetica 3.6 Basic, FilterForge 3 Professional, Blender 2.61, SketchUp 8, PoserPro 2012, Vue 10 Infinite, World Machine 2.3, GeoControl 2