D3D(http://d3d.sesseler.de/index.php?software=poserpython) has a lot of useful scripts. Such as conforming multiple figures at once, copying morphs, scaling and deformers to conformed figures, etc.

Quote - You have to blame the dishonesty of those who pirate for your plight. As a Zbrush user I feel your pain.

The irony is that this measures don't stop piracy. Pirated copies can be installed on any machine any number of times. If people pirating the software get less hassle and more value then honest paying customers, it is a problem. The key to combat piracy isn't enganing in meaningless arms race which is a losing battle for any kind of software but AAA games, but to add value to the paying customers.

Addiction is when it's no longer fun but you're still doing it because you're, well, addicted :)

Have you considered looking at some kind of machine learning algorithms? Otherwise it seems to take more then the lifetime of the Universe.

Quote - before running DS you need to symlink the fonts cour.ttf and times.ttf, from /usr/share/fonts/truetype/msttcorefonts/ to /home//.wine/drive_c/windows/Fonts/

Fixed that for you :)

Also, if you want bleeding edge and/or optimized builds for your platform, you can try http://www.graphicall.org

Get rid of camera control widgets and use mouse and keyboard to pan, zoom, rotate, etc.

Add manipulation widgets (rotate, translate, scale) with the ability to select multiple actors at once.

Improve skinning, rigging and animation support.

Add C++ API (to Poser). Some plug-ins may require the performance and integration that current Python API simply doesn't offer. That would help to address my points above by the way and points raised by other posters in this thread.

I had to clarify the differences between 3d.sk hobby and commercial licenses ~2 years ago.

hobby license should be called individual license while commercial one is business. You (a person) can create free or commercial products with so called "hobby" license.

Quote - I understand if someone gives away a product with restrictions but to sell one with restrictions like that is not acceptable.

Not really. It's perfectly acceptable to sell with whatever restrictions you want, as long as you make them available before purchase.

You need to create vertex groups, not materials.

dphoadley: Well, like I said - probably :)

The answer is pretty simple: DAZ figures have more content for them. Sure, you can create your own content for other figures, in which case you probably become less and less satisfied with what Poser has to offer and gravitate towards stronger 3d drug.

You can scale poser models in Blender all you want without having to remember poser/blender unit ratio and stuff like that, just make sure to:

1. scale only in object mode.
2. before exporting back, clear scaling (Alt-s) - again, in object mode.

Quote -
Blender Foundation recommend that you still use 2.49 for serious work. By the time 2.5 gets on line for real it should be a short transition period but by all means play with it.

I assumed that OP's goal is to learn Blender not use it for serious work at this point. And there's a lot of things can be done already, just keep in mind saving frequently.

There is another thing to keep in mind. That is, making realistic, casual, everyday clothes, characters, etc. is harder then sci-fi, fantasy, pin-up stuff. The level of accuracy needs to be much higher and artistic freedom is much more limited.