Wise words Kelderek... indeed the price of a software is not the issue here. Because, even people who CAN afford expensive softwares are using warez ! it's really a common practice. Go in big production studios you'll surely see a few illegal copies (maybe not the core applications, but surely one or two plug-ins).

Recently an IT guy came to my place to fix a problem with one of my hard disk... while he was typing a few DOS commands he asked me "hey, If you want a few softs, just ask !". I could get for free Premiere, After Effect, Lightwave, Quark Xpress, Director, etc... more than $10000 of softs. And this guy works for a well know international PC brand !

To answer Rimkopf's question : you know, if someone asks a very basic question, it doesn't always mean that he doesn't have a manual... I'm getting sceptical only when :

1. a CGI newbie asks "technical" questions about 3 or 4 softwares. Usually if you're a beginner, you don't start with Vue4, Cinema4DXL7, Poser4pro, and Photoshop 7 at the same time ! Unless of course, these softwares were "really cheap"...

2. Someone is reluctant to update to the latest free version of his software (most of the time you need to be a registered user to be able to download an update...)

3. Someone says "I have problems with the software of my dad, sister, boss, etc...".

If you think that the guy as an illegal copie without an manual, answer to his question "it's explained at the page 612 of VUE's first manual" and see what happens...

:) Eric