Yesterday was Steve Cooper's last day with Smith Micro, They announced it on their Poser Facebook page.

The details to apply for his job are also there.

Yesterday was Steve Cooper's last day with Smith Micro, They announced it on their Poser Facebook page.

The details to apply for his job are also there.

Really sorry to hear that as I felt he was one of the 'good' guys.  What with that and the new de-activation process slipped into the Game Dev version 2015 has not started well for Poser in my view.  I wish Steve all every success sin whatever he turns his hand to. 

 I wish him the best where ever he goes, he has always been great support to us.

here here!  He's a good bloke.  Very smart.

We have to move with the times.

Love esther

 What with that and the new de-activation process slipped into the Game Dev version 2015 has not started well for Poser in my view.

It's both sad and interesting to watch marketing 'experts' slowly destroy a company.  I hope Smithmicro smartens up as I love the program.  I gave up gaming to play with dolls in Poser and thought that the money I spent on Poser was great value.  I'm sure Steve will do well.

That sounded a bit cold Nanette!  :)

"Steve's gone, you can apply for his job."  ;-}

I'm sorry to hear this, especially as he's a major Poser person.  It's a shame he didn't take Poser along with him and manage a smaller, more dedicated team.  Poser being under SM is a bit like Bryce being under DAZ - both were infinitely better under Metacreations.  With both Bryce and no doubt Poser in trouble now, it'd be great if the original people merged and formed a new company selling and developing Bryce and Poser once again.

I know, just dreaming aloud.
Best wishes for the future, Steve.

Yeah, listen, this stinks!!!
Make sure you buy Poser and develop it your own way, Cooperman!!!

Later,
Roxie - Girl With Blade

Most of the original people are all working on the program, with the exception of Steve and Darrell.  Steve's gone on to a company that seems to be the perfect fit for him, so I'm really happy for him. 

I wish him well. It's a loss for Poser (and SM). He was a very approachable person for us grunts ;).

Laurie

Prixat, that is was that notice on Facebook said - with a link to the details on what the requirements are for the position and how to apply. It made my eyes widen too.

For me, the message is that his successor has not been identified.

Sorry to see him go. Best of luck to him in his future endeavors.  I hope he still pops in from time to time to say hey and let us all know what he's up to.

Coop!

Cheers and Best Wishes

I hope he do well ,  but forgive me for saying this:

Nobody really believes like me that the business model of SM in recent years (since DAZ made G1 to the date ) to been a DISASTER ? (with huge letters)

At this rate I do not think that SM survive more than one or two years , perhaps it is time for new people with new ideas to take control of the company,

I do not know , sometimes is good be renewed

I hope he do well ,  but forgive me for saying this:

Nobody really believes like me that the business model of SM in recent years (since DAZ made G1 to the date ) to been a DISASTER ? (with huge letters)

At this rate I do not think that SM survive more than one or two years , perhaps it is time for new people with new ideas to take control of the company,

I do not know , sometimes is good be renewed

No - I think they are moving in the right direction.  Look at everything that has been added to Poser over the last 2 iterations.  Definitely moving in the right direction. That direction is away from the hobbyist end (where there isn't much money to be made) to higher up the 3d food-chain (where the money is).

Oh please...........Who says the hobbiest market is not profitable? There are more hobbiests than profesionals in any market. Also Upper in the food chain, those guys can make their own stuff and won't really find a use for Poser and its dated content compared to what they can whip up. The "gaming" direction was a desperate move and was not thought out and implemented properly.

Sorry to see him go but I wish him all the very best.

I hope he do well ,  but forgive me for saying this:

Nobody really believes like me that the business model of SM in recent years (since DAZ made G1 to the date ) to been a DISASTER ? (with huge letters)

At this rate I do not think that SM survive more than one or two years , perhaps it is time for new people with new ideas to take control of the company,

I do not know , sometimes is good be renewed

No - I think they are moving in the right direction.  Look at everything that has been added to Poser over the last 2 iterations.  Definitely moving in the right direction. That direction is away from the hobbyist end (where there isn't much money to be made) to higher up the 3d food-chain (where the money is).

I respect your opinion ssgbryan, But I have a completely different opinion , maybe my vision is that of a user more than a content creator, for years I see that the amount of user Poser is constantly decreasing ( and fast) , the movement in all the forum / blogs etc... too (very fast), the SM few years went from being a leader in his own almost disappear.

if the company changes its direction I think for the number of people who still use Poser this was a big mistake,  that are always the same few people who post things and the most important thing , the new users have virtually disappeared

ps.and as cherry on the cake we have people like Mr. Z takes advantage to promote DAZ in any topic here  , I never saw someone say that is not a Poser User  participate so much in a forum poser , their only mission is to promote your Lovely company, but participate he participates ( Sorry I lie, also are the "unmentionable"  , that's the worst of all, I am afraid to name her , perhaps appear as beetlejuice...)

I respect your opinion ssgbryan, But I have a completely different opinion , maybe my vision is that of a user more than a content creator, for years I see that the amount of user Poser is constantly decreasing ( and fast) , the movement in all the forum / blogs etc... too (very fast), the SM few years went from being a leader in his own almost disappear.
ps.and as cherry on the cake we have people like Mr. Z takes advantage to promote DAZ in any topic here  , I never saw someone say that is not a Poser User  participate so much in a forum poser , their only mission is to promote your Lovely company, but participate he participates ( Sorry I lie, also are the "unmentionable"  , that's the worst of all, I am afraid to name her , perhaps appear as beetlejuice...)

People have been predicting the end of Poser since version 4. 10 years later, Poser is still here. I'm not tech crazy like a lot of people who just have to have the latest coolest gadget. Even when I bought Poser 8 I was still mostly using P6. A lot of people are still using V4. If I wasn't making things for the Poser natives, I'd probably still be using her too, or Dawn. Frankly, I couldn't afford to use Genesis even if Poser did support it. The software maybe free, but the content prices are astronomical.

Anyway, sad as I am to see Steve go, he was a part of the development team, but not the team. That's still there. When I start to see them all abandoning ship, then I'll worry.
Anyway

if the company changes its direction I think for the number of people who still use Poser this was a big mistake,  that are always the same few people who post things and the most important thing , the new users have virtually disappeared

Younger 3D enthusiasts are playing with game engines. Those things are virtually free, and much more capable.

Hey all - thanks for the well wishes. The speculation? I could do without that, but it is what it is.

Here's the skinny. I needed a new challenge. Loving Poser has kept me engaged on and off for 20 years. But there are a few other things I love. Photography. VR. Hardware, gear and gadgets. I joined Lytro as their Director of Product Marketing, my first day is February 9th. Lytro is working on some very innovative technology that's in its infancy. Plenoptics. Light field photography. They're a great, well funded company in start-up mode. They need someone with my skills. It's a lovely new challenge that I'm stoked to be able to dive into. My head and heart both need that.

Here's where I'll be moving: https://www.lytro.com/

Parting is bittersweet. There's a family of folks who I've worked with for two decades, grown up, survived alongside. And then there's this crazy Poser product family, the pinnacle of personification.

I let the team know months ago that I was planning a change so they could prepare. They have been. The change will be good.

Have a little faith, please?

Cheers,

Steve Cooper

I thought it was a new challenge you needed. But I so loved your webinars, especially when you knocked the socks off that game expert with all the things Poser could do!

I've read about those Lytro cameras a few times, very cool, congrats!

Hey all - thanks for the well wishes. The speculation? I could do without that, but it is what it is.

Here's the skinny. I needed a new challenge. Loving Poser has kept me engaged on and off for 20 years. But there are a few other things I love. Photography. VR. Hardware, gear and gadgets. I joined Lytro as their Director of Product Marketing, my first day is February 9th. Lytro is working on some very innovative technology that's in its infancy. Plenoptics. Light field photography. They're a great, well funded company in start-up mode. They need someone with my skills. It's a lovely new challenge that I'm stoked to be able to dive into. My head and heart both need that.

Here's where I'll be moving: https://www.lytro.com/

Parting is bittersweet. There's a family of folks who I've worked with for two decades, grown up, survived alongside. And then there's this crazy Poser product family, the pinnacle of personification.

I let the team know months ago that I was planning a change so they could prepare. They have been. The change will be good.

Have a little faith, please?

Cheers,

Steve Cooper

Thanks for the update and I wish you well in the new venture and I hope it provides the sort of challenge you are looking for.

 I like the way Poser is going and have updated whenever I have had the opportunity.  Now I know that is some peoples eyes that will make me a Poser fan boy who would never dare criticise SM.  Well anyone who believes that should look at my comments elsewhere on the deactivation system slipped into the Game Dev version.  I am prepared to criticise when I feel something is wrong but also believe you should give credit where it is due, that is only fair.  I believe SM should be given a lot of credit for the new features and improvements made under their stewardship.   Steve Cooper was part of that, kept us users in the know and helped where he could, so deserves his share of that credit.

Only time will tell where Poser goes from here and, as is almost always the case, those who claim to know the future really don't.  Of course some people do but if they posted what they know on a forum like this they would no longer be part of that future as they would be out of a job. 

I thought it was a new challenge you needed. But I so loved your webinars, especially when you knocked the socks off that game expert with all the things Poser could do!

Where did he do that?  I want to see it!

Thanks for all your support over the years Kupa! Really appreciate it. ^ ^

 I like the way Poser is going and have updated whenever I have had the opportunity.  Now I know that is some peoples eyes that will make me a Poser fan boy who would never dare criticise SM.  Well anyone who believes that should look at my comments elsewhere on the deactivation system slipped into the Game Dev version.  I am prepared to criticise when I feel something is wrong but also believe you should give credit where it is due, that is only fair.  I believe SM should be given a lot of credit for the new features and improvements made under their stewardship.   Steve Cooper was part of that, kept us users in the know and helped where he could, so deserves his share of that credit.

Only time will tell where Poser goes from here and, as is almost always the case, those who claim to know the future really don't.  Of course some people do but if they posted what they know on a forum like this they would no longer be part of that future as they would be out of a job. 

 

 

Here's the thing with me. I will miss Steve. Admittedly, he didn't post much, but when he did I always got the feeling that Poser was listening and taking our views and concerns into account. Even though he couldn't tell us much because of NDAs, I still always had the impression that we were being kept in the loop concerning Poser's development. I hope whoever takes over his job at Smith Micro will come here and introduce themselves, and follow Steve's tradition.

Hey all - thanks for the well wishes. The speculation? I could do without that, but it is what it is.

Here's the skinny. I needed a new challenge. Loving Poser has kept me engaged on and off for 20 years. But there are a few other things I love. Photography. VR. Hardware, gear and gadgets. I joined Lytro as their Director of Product Marketing, my first day is February 9th. Lytro is working on some very innovative technology that's in its infancy. Plenoptics. Light field photography. They're a great, well funded company in start-up mode. They need someone with my skills. It's a lovely new challenge that I'm stoked to be able to dive into. My head and heart both need that.

Here's where I'll be moving: https://www.lytro.com/

Parting is bittersweet. There's a family of folks who I've worked with for two decades, grown up, survived alongside. And then there's this crazy Poser product family, the pinnacle of personification.

I let the team know months ago that I was planning a change so they could prepare. They have been. The change will be good.

Have a little faith, please?

Cheers,

Steve Cooper

Lytro is doing some very cool stuff, stuff I'm extremely interested in. I'm glad they're getting you. :) When it comes to speculation, you have to be pretty special to become the center of a conspiracy theory. Hats off! 

And good luck!

Oh please...........Who says the hobbiest market is not profitable? There are more hobbiests than profesionals in any market. Also Upper in the food chain, those guys can make their own stuff and won't really find a use for Poser and its dated content compared to what they can whip up. The "gaming" direction was a desperate move and was not thought out and implemented properly.

How exactly is Poser GD a desperate move?  IMHO, the GD specific functions should have been in the program since they split off the Pro version.  Other than providing for content licensing, I don't really see it as any huge shift in how Poser is being developed.

Best wishes to Steve; I'm sure he'll do well.  He's a great bloke and he's been a huge help to me.  

LOL, that's like saying when DS added game features it was a desperate move as well.  I think there's nothing wrong with having them in DS or Poser.  More tools are a good thing and if you don't care for them or are disinterested, spend the extra ($25/$50) elsewhere....?

 Thanks Steve Cooper for ya contributions to are Poser fun. Good luck with ya new adventures.

Ditto, all the good wishes and thanks from the previous posters. Enjoy the new challenge. Drop back in from time to time and keep us posted as to your new adventure.

Wishing you many blessing in your new direction, Steve! Sounds like a cool new challenge. Thanks for all the years you gave us :)

As for hobby market being small..... think again? Microsoft, Apple and the likes all depend on it :) Companies like Serif have become quite big because of all these hobby users. Not forgetting DAZ, Poser and even Vue. Though the last one has outgrown it's hobby user a bit.

man, that sounds great, kupa!  plus more $$$,$$$ I hope. always enjoyed yer video-conferences.