tsartist wrote: "...What happens to my Bryce and Carrara content?"

"Products created for Bryce and/or Carrara can still be purchased through the website and installed through Daz Install Manager. Bryce maintains the ability to use Daz Studio content through the Bryce bridge. Carrara cannot currently consume encrypted files installed using Daz Connect. Your options for Carrara are to either export FBX or OBJs out of Daz Studio or use unencrypted versions of your content downloaded and installed through Daz Install Manager."

The real importance is in this one of many FAQs (listed above) about "DAZConnect" and Daz's new DRM products. "The first is the line:Products created for Bryce and/or Carrara can still be purchased through the website and installed through Daz Install Manager" As we all know, DAZ does not have very many product created ONLY for Carrara.

Secondly: "Carrara cannot currently consume encrypted files installed using Daz Connect." All new products will eventually be (according to their FAQs) encrypted (DRM) for use with primarily DAZStudio. You MAY be able to convert THROUGH DAZStudio 4.9 to FBX or obj files after DAZStudio 4.9 has decrypted BUT if you run the "DAZConnect" feature on DAZStudio 4.9 (and this is according to their vague FAQs) that feature will, as updates become available, render already owned DAZ products that are installed in certain folders, unusable to Carrara through it's browser. The forum topics over at DAZ about this are mostly found in the DAZStudio area, but the Carrara/Poser/Bryce users there are talking of backing up all their owned content on drives other than the one that contains DAZStudio. Are many paranoid for no reason? Wrong! My first DAZ product was purchased thirteen years ago. I own thousands of DAZ products and I have always backed them up on CDs, DVDs, or external RAID drives. Now I'm glad I did. I like DAZ3D, but when it come to trust your not going to find it on the internet.

BTW - DAZ is also talking of future "cloud" based product storage (meaning you can only link to your purchases through their site). They claim this will relieve the users of using up so much storage at the local level. Are you kidding? Terabytes are so cheap nowadays, everyone could store the Library of Congress on their desks. They (the DAZ FAQs and forum administrators) even state they intend to put a "poison pill" trigger in their encryption should DAZ3D go out of business then those using DAZStudio will have non-encrypted access to the DRM products they have in their product libraries.

Bottom line is that I would be surprised if DAZ3D currently has more than 100 Carrara ONLY products which wont be affected by the new DRM policy. And for new characters, clothing, etc. a Carrara user will have to export this new content from DAZ3D through DAZStudio4.9 which means I would have to have DAZStudio4.9 installed and "DAZConnect" invoked by my own "OK" key-press and that gives permission to DAZStudio4.9 to make product updates (with encryption) my older DAZ content that is located in library locations known to Studio.

Carrara users ...Caution Caution Caution. To "Sueposer"... you are so correct in your statement, "Thank goodness for other vendors!"