To answer the OP's question... no, it's not dead. See Captain von Gilliland's post on the Official Poser Forum.

But Poser is so far behind all the competition that it might as well be dead. There is no way in hell Poser can catch up with Rallusion, DZ, or anyone else at this point. Even bloody Blender. Not without a seismic shift in how Smith Micro sees Poser. Not without a massive injection of money for development. That won't happen. SM neglected taking Poser from really good to outstanding for years. They were more concerned with bloody face posing chips and Pauline than noticing that Reallusion was quietly taking over their animation and figure design market.

The last Poser dev team was stuck with the idea they had to cater to the existing user base and their longtime pals - you know the ones always screaming and fighting on the Official forum (and here, cough) - instead of paying attention to what the competition was doing and trying to outdo the competition. And Poser is but a tiny little slice of what Smith Micro actually does. If Poser was a huge deal to Smith Micro they would actually spend some budget on promoting it. They never did. Poser's gallery? The one place that Smith Micro could show off - FOR FREE - what Poser can do? It's buried three links deep. It's not out front where everyone can see it. Obviously they don't care.

At this point it's too little too late. Poser is an also-ran and it's Smith Micro's own fault. Sure it'll always have its fans and despite what you now believe I'm actually one of them. I'll use the software until it's done. But it's been three whole years since Poser's last full release. And they've only just now decided to keep users in the loop regarding development? Wow. Way too little way too late. It is a very real demonstration of how Smith Micro and the Poser development team work. "Oh we should have done this three (five, eight) years ago? OK let's start it next week."

I know I'm gonna get flamed all to hell and back and I know that the knowitalls will come out in force to correct me...but whatever. The truth hurts. It actually sucks.

Unless Poser is totally reinvented in a way that overtakes the competition, it is really done. It won't attract new users. It will just have us loyal longtime users clinging to it till it slips quietly beneath the waves. Poser is Jack in Titanic. No room on the door. Sayonara, Jack.

The state of Poser and the future of Poser makes me incredibly sad, I used Poser from v. 6 to 11 - but it died a slow death by misdirection and neglect.

It's just too late to fix it.