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Most people are thrilled to get workflow enhancements.

Not always; it depends on the product and who uses it. I remember there being a rather large shit-fit when the UI was changed about a bit on DAZ Studio (a CG compositing/rendering app with some animation capabilities).

This is because CG artists (pro or hobbyist) tend to bristle whenever you tinker with their muscle-memory; I suspect other niches with complex workflows are similar.

Also, it would be worth taking a look (a hard look) at how the majority of users actually do use the UI (and be sure to beta-test the shit out of any changes), because there are cases where a quirk, bug, or otherwise-considered 'problem' may be the one critical thing that many customers need to complete their tasks.

Dunno... I've seen where a well-built common UI framework (Qt specifically) can make cross-platform not only easier, but improves the UI beyond the OS it rides on, and more importantly, provides a consistent user experience for those who do switch between platforms.

A perfect example of this is in desktop CG applications (...like this one, ferinstance.) In this case, there are no real OS-specific strengths that your UI would even need to care about. In the case of cross-platform CG apps, a professional artist can use the Mac version at work, the Windows version at home, and not have to care about interrupting his workflow because of UI inconsistency.

Now on the mobile side, this becomes even more important I suspect, with a not-insignificant number of folks swapping between platforms every year or two... your app remaining consistent between them is kind of important at that stage. For anything cute/unique that you want to add or remove for a specific platform, I suspect that case statements (or equivalent) would take care of that, no? It would at least allow you to keep it all in one codebase if nothing else. You just have to know what you're doing when you build it, and be sure that the underlying language is equally cross-platform (in the above example, C++ is the weapon of choice).

Besides, the only way you really would be able to commit to tight hardware integration would be the case of iPhones - it'd be the only platform where you could expect a consistent and relatively limited variety of hardware specs and features across all users - a condition you'd never see with Android, WP, or even (heh) Blackberries.

Oh, come on. They just want to kill off 3Delight or something like that.

You're close - they likely want to kill off licensing money for 3Delight (you can get the engine yourself and use it for free). For instance, these guys license 3Delight as the render engine inside the DAZ Studio product, as do many other hobbyist and lower-end toolsets. They pay quite a bit for the privilege.

There's a decent amount of money to be made not by selling the engine as a product, but by licensing it out to other software houses, much like they licensed out the Unreal or Quake game engines. Making and maintaining a complex CG engine (rendering, game physics, subdivision, etc) is programmatically a PITA, and it's easier to use an existing wheel than to just re-invent it.

Hello, you can get Daz Studio free, it works like Poser, you can make cartoons and art with little/no drawing skill:

http://www.daz3d.com/products/daz-studio/daz-studio-what-is-daz-studio

I am curious as to whether or not some neighboring state (*cough* California *cough*) would decide to charge me their sales tax rate for anything that an online retailer would sell to me if it comes out of a warehouse that is sitting within their borders...

Why do you assume that this would change the law regarding that? The issue here is that the tax is owed but not collected under these circumstances. In most states, you still owe tax when you purchase online. It's just that the state doesn't actually have any way to know to collect from you.

I do recall only one site online charging any sales tax - DAZ Productions used to charge sales tax to their Utah customers (back when I was one), because they themselves are in Utah. I'm sure there are similar setups out there...

That's just how sales taxes work. Amazon charges tax to Washington customers for that reason and has always done that. The reason why you may not have seen it often is that there aren't that many online sites located in Utah that are subject to sales tax. If you lived in California, you might find it more common.

Same in Oregon for pretty much anything that isn't tobacco or gasoline, and only one of those are practical for purchasing online.

OTOH, I am curious as to whether or not some neighboring state (*cough* California *cough*) would decide to charge me their sales tax rate for anything that an online retailer would sell to me if it comes out of a warehouse that is sitting within their borders...

It'll change a few dynamics, to say the least.

I do recall only one site online charging any sales tax - DAZ Productions used to charge sales tax to their Utah customers (back when I was one), because they themselves are in Utah. I'm sure there are similar setups out there...

It's actually rather common and tools are readily available to pull it off. Go shopping online and select though the various "color" options for a given article of clothing some time. If varies from store to store but often you'll find tells such as identical models, identical poses, different colors, if not entire garments. You just buy a model model and tailor her/him to the ethnicity, pose, skin, etc. desired via simple controls. Some of these tools produce obvious fakes, but others are down right creepy in their realism.

I do .NET because that's where the money is.

So do you love writing code, or did you just do it for the paycheck?

TFA (yeah, I read it, my bad) says they're looking for people who love to write code, and know how to do it well. They want coders who have a passion for what they do. They want coders who are flexible, and who are able to adapt. They want coders who are able to not only write apps, but who understand what's really going on deep down.

Honestly? I agree with the guy. If you're running a startup, and looking for long-term growth, your initial coders need to be more than merely competent.

I remember when I did a stint working for a small company... these guys, to be exact. They had two full-on coders, one hell of a script whiz who knew 3D/CG like the back of his hand, and they had me. I had to learn Qt in very short order, figure out the fun nuances of helping port everything from x86 to PPC (this was pre-Intel Mac). Oh, and we did all of our own documentation, for both the SDK (both code and our own home-grown CG-oriented scripting language) *and* the users. I had to pick up bits and bobs that I thought I'd never have to use after leaving school (dusting off rusty trigonometry skills, blending in gaming, artistic, printing/color, and a whole pile of other concepts). Oh, and we'd just bought the codebase for Bryce during that time and had to clean that up (this is where I learned that Kai Krause can be a very evil man...)

Long story short, in that environment, you had to be agile, and given the insane hours, you had to be agile, and you had to really love doing it. OTOH, I wouldn't trade that for anything. We were outright cowboys by big-corp standards, and had a ball doing it.

In an environment like that? There's zero room for cookie-cutter technologies, or cookie-cutter programmers. (not accusing you, just sayin').

I have an i7 quad core with 8 threads that are visibly pegged at ~100% in Task Manager for hours on end. How? Try using the higher quality settings on Carrara or DAZ Studio. They will peg any cpu or box that will be produced in the next ten years.

I'm sure there are plenty of other compute-intensive applications out there that will bring any cpu to its knees and make it beg for mercy.

I have an i7 quad core with 8 threads that are visibly pegged at ~100% in Task Manager for hours on end. How? Try using the higher quality settings on Carrara or DAZ Studio. They will peg any cpu or box that will be produced in the next ten years.

I'm sure there are plenty of other compute-intensive applications out there that will bring any cpu to its knees and make it beg for mercy.

Did you bother asking if Daz run on Linux? Here is their Contact Us page:
http://www.daz3d.com/i.x/support/rnlogin/-/?p_sid=25DHD-uj&p_accessibility=&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=&p_li=&p_next_page=ask.php

Now go and ask for it. If we do not express interest in having commercial software ported to Linux, obviously the software houses won't port it.

In a perverse twist of fate, moments after my post I got this: A NOTE has been added to this issue.

https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704

Reported By: Crimmy
Assigned To: Product Management

Project: DAZ Studio
Issue ID: 25704
Category: Other
Reproducibility: always
Severity: major
Priority: normal
Status: new
Platform: PC

Date Submitted: 2008-08-12 15:05 CDT
Last Modified: 2009-04-09 14:37 CDT

Summary: DAZ Studio for Linux
Description:
I would very much like to see a Linux version of DAZ Studio. I use SuSE Linux and it is a very stable and user-friendly operating system and I would use it often. This would enable Linux users who are interested in DAZ Studio and Poser the opportunity to buy content that is usable in their platform. It would even be worthwhile distributing it as part of the OpenSuSE distribution, whereby it would check for updates at DAZ website repository and grab the latest version the way other Linux programs do.

(0046202) smahlum (administrator) - 2008-08-27 09:18
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c46202

Feature request from this user.


(0051664) un_pobre_guey (reporter) - 2009-04-01 22:53
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c51664

I concur. It has been several versions of DS since I have gotten it to run under wine (see http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12931#c1). I used to use it exclusively under Ubuntu, then had to switch to XP. Now, after a windows update, it hangs and crashes there as well even after a reinstall. Given that 1) it is written with the Qt libraries and 2) Qt is a cross-platform framework that runs very well under GNU/Linux, it is baffling that there still is no native Linux version. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make a Linux version! Do it for Ubuntu if you have to choose a specific distro!

(0051913) zigraphix (reporter) - 2009-04-09 14:37
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c51913

I use Ubuntu and I have trouble under Wine as well. I know it's partially due to the ATI driver support on Linux, but it would be nice not to have that extra Wine layer in there causing problems.
Issue History
Date Modified Username Field Change

2008-08-12 15:05 Crimmy New Issue
2008-08-12 15:05 Crimmy Platform => PC
2008-08-12 15:07 Crimmy Issue Monitored: Crimmy
2008-08-27 09:18 smahlum Note Added: 0046202
2008-08-27 09:18 smahlum Assigned To DAZ QA Manager =>
Product Management
2008-12-17 15:51 DAZ QA Manager Project DAZ Studio => DAZ
Studio Private Beta
2008-12-29 15:08 Heather Minson Project DAZ Studio Private Beta
DAZ Studio
2009-04-01 22:53 un_pobre_guey Note Added: 0051664
2009-04-09 14:37 zigraphix Note Added: 0051913

In a perverse twist of fate, moments after my post I got this: A NOTE has been added to this issue.

https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704

Reported By: Crimmy
Assigned To: Product Management

Project: DAZ Studio
Issue ID: 25704
Category: Other
Reproducibility: always
Severity: major
Priority: normal
Status: new
Platform: PC

Date Submitted: 2008-08-12 15:05 CDT
Last Modified: 2009-04-09 14:37 CDT

Summary: DAZ Studio for Linux
Description:
I would very much like to see a Linux version of DAZ Studio. I use SuSE Linux and it is a very stable and user-friendly operating system and I would use it often. This would enable Linux users who are interested in DAZ Studio and Poser the opportunity to buy content that is usable in their platform. It would even be worthwhile distributing it as part of the OpenSuSE distribution, whereby it would check for updates at DAZ website repository and grab the latest version the way other Linux programs do.

(0046202) smahlum (administrator) - 2008-08-27 09:18
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c46202

Feature request from this user.


(0051664) un_pobre_guey (reporter) - 2009-04-01 22:53
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c51664

I concur. It has been several versions of DS since I have gotten it to run under wine (see http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12931#c1). I used to use it exclusively under Ubuntu, then had to switch to XP. Now, after a windows update, it hangs and crashes there as well even after a reinstall. Given that 1) it is written with the Qt libraries and 2) Qt is a cross-platform framework that runs very well under GNU/Linux, it is baffling that there still is no native Linux version. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make a Linux version! Do it for Ubuntu if you have to choose a specific distro!

(0051913) zigraphix (reporter) - 2009-04-09 14:37
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c51913

I use Ubuntu and I have trouble under Wine as well. I know it's partially due to the ATI driver support on Linux, but it would be nice not to have that extra Wine layer in there causing problems.
Issue History
Date Modified Username Field Change

2008-08-12 15:05 Crimmy New Issue
2008-08-12 15:05 Crimmy Platform => PC
2008-08-12 15:07 Crimmy Issue Monitored: Crimmy
2008-08-27 09:18 smahlum Note Added: 0046202
2008-08-27 09:18 smahlum Assigned To DAZ QA Manager =>
Product Management
2008-12-17 15:51 DAZ QA Manager Project DAZ Studio => DAZ
Studio Private Beta
2008-12-29 15:08 Heather Minson Project DAZ Studio Private Beta
DAZ Studio
2009-04-01 22:53 un_pobre_guey Note Added: 0051664
2009-04-09 14:37 zigraphix Note Added: 0051913

In a perverse twist of fate, moments after my post I got this: A NOTE has been added to this issue.

https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704

Reported By: Crimmy
Assigned To: Product Management

Project: DAZ Studio
Issue ID: 25704
Category: Other
Reproducibility: always
Severity: major
Priority: normal
Status: new
Platform: PC

Date Submitted: 2008-08-12 15:05 CDT
Last Modified: 2009-04-09 14:37 CDT

Summary: DAZ Studio for Linux
Description:
I would very much like to see a Linux version of DAZ Studio. I use SuSE Linux and it is a very stable and user-friendly operating system and I would use it often. This would enable Linux users who are interested in DAZ Studio and Poser the opportunity to buy content that is usable in their platform. It would even be worthwhile distributing it as part of the OpenSuSE distribution, whereby it would check for updates at DAZ website repository and grab the latest version the way other Linux programs do.

(0046202) smahlum (administrator) - 2008-08-27 09:18
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c46202

Feature request from this user.


(0051664) un_pobre_guey (reporter) - 2009-04-01 22:53
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c51664

I concur. It has been several versions of DS since I have gotten it to run under wine (see http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12931#c1). I used to use it exclusively under Ubuntu, then had to switch to XP. Now, after a windows update, it hangs and crashes there as well even after a reinstall. Given that 1) it is written with the Qt libraries and 2) Qt is a cross-platform framework that runs very well under GNU/Linux, it is baffling that there still is no native Linux version. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make a Linux version! Do it for Ubuntu if you have to choose a specific distro!

(0051913) zigraphix (reporter) - 2009-04-09 14:37
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c51913

I use Ubuntu and I have trouble under Wine as well. I know it's partially due to the ATI driver support on Linux, but it would be nice not to have that extra Wine layer in there causing problems.
Issue History
Date Modified Username Field Change

2008-08-12 15:05 Crimmy New Issue
2008-08-12 15:05 Crimmy Platform => PC
2008-08-12 15:07 Crimmy Issue Monitored: Crimmy
2008-08-27 09:18 smahlum Note Added: 0046202
2008-08-27 09:18 smahlum Assigned To DAZ QA Manager =>
Product Management
2008-12-17 15:51 DAZ QA Manager Project DAZ Studio => DAZ
Studio Private Beta
2008-12-29 15:08 Heather Minson Project DAZ Studio Private Beta
DAZ Studio
2009-04-01 22:53 un_pobre_guey Note Added: 0051664
2009-04-09 14:37 zigraphix Note Added: 0051913

In a perverse twist of fate, moments after my post I got this: A NOTE has been added to this issue.

https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704

Reported By: Crimmy
Assigned To: Product Management

Project: DAZ Studio
Issue ID: 25704
Category: Other
Reproducibility: always
Severity: major
Priority: normal
Status: new
Platform: PC

Date Submitted: 2008-08-12 15:05 CDT
Last Modified: 2009-04-09 14:37 CDT

Summary: DAZ Studio for Linux
Description:
I would very much like to see a Linux version of DAZ Studio. I use SuSE Linux and it is a very stable and user-friendly operating system and I would use it often. This would enable Linux users who are interested in DAZ Studio and Poser the opportunity to buy content that is usable in their platform. It would even be worthwhile distributing it as part of the OpenSuSE distribution, whereby it would check for updates at DAZ website repository and grab the latest version the way other Linux programs do.

(0046202) smahlum (administrator) - 2008-08-27 09:18
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c46202

Feature request from this user.


(0051664) un_pobre_guey (reporter) - 2009-04-01 22:53
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c51664

I concur. It has been several versions of DS since I have gotten it to run under wine (see http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=12931#c1). I used to use it exclusively under Ubuntu, then had to switch to XP. Now, after a windows update, it hangs and crashes there as well even after a reinstall. Given that 1) it is written with the Qt libraries and 2) Qt is a cross-platform framework that runs very well under GNU/Linux, it is baffling that there still is no native Linux version. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make a Linux version! Do it for Ubuntu if you have to choose a specific distro!

(0051913) zigraphix (reporter) - 2009-04-09 14:37
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=25704#c51913

I use Ubuntu and I have trouble under Wine as well. I know it's partially due to the ATI driver support on Linux, but it would be nice not to have that extra Wine layer in there causing problems.
Issue History
Date Modified Username Field Change

2008-08-12 15:05 Crimmy New Issue
2008-08-12 15:05 Crimmy Platform => PC
2008-08-12 15:07 Crimmy Issue Monitored: Crimmy
2008-08-27 09:18 smahlum Note Added: 0046202
2008-08-27 09:18 smahlum Assigned To DAZ QA Manager =>
Product Management
2008-12-17 15:51 DAZ QA Manager Project DAZ Studio => DAZ
Studio Private Beta
2008-12-29 15:08 Heather Minson Project DAZ Studio Private Beta
DAZ Studio
2009-04-01 22:53 un_pobre_guey Note Added: 0051664
2009-04-09 14:37 zigraphix Note Added: 0051913

After a recent update to an XP box (an MS automatic update) DAZ Studio, a piece of software I enjoy, stopped working. It is really the only reason I still have a windows box. The XP clean reinstall process went through without a hitch, but it took me a day and a half. I shit you not. Endless downloading of files and updates, far too many reboots. I hope this is remedied in Windows 7, because when it comes out I will probably get a new beefier windows box for DAZ Studio.

While I'm all for open source and regarding hardware drivers I wouldn't want it any other way, let's not forget that open source does not have to be pushed around at the application level at the expense of usability. Professional-level applications are critical for the use and expansion of Linux, and proprietary software vendors should be encouraged to develop their software for Linux, not alienated by being badgered to give away their source code. Currently, there is a heated discussion on the Debian list regarding PCB and CAD software availability. One camp (me) is encouraging users to write to software houses and to request that they port their software to Linux, with the other camp rejecting all contact with proprietary software vendors unless it is a demand for the source code. Currently, myself and other engineers cannot use Linux at work because we must run proprietary engineering software, such as Solidworks in my case. For those who want to help, please write to these companies and let them know that we are interested in their software on Linux:

Intuit (Quicken, Quickbooks) http://www.intuit.com/contact/ (requires registration)

Adobe (Photoshop, Flash CS3 Professional, Captivate, Dreamweaver, Studio) http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

Sony (Vegas Studio) http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/corporate/contacts.asp

Autodesk (Autocad) http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=1073074

SolidWorks http://www.solidworks.com/pages/company/SolidWorksOfficeWorldwide.html (requires registration)

Sage (Act!) http://www.act.com/company/contactus/

Nuance (Dragon Naturally Speaking) http://www.nuance.com/help/contact/

hardin-soft (BM-Win Plus (mailing address correction software)) http://www.hardin-soft.com//forms/feedback.html

Daz (Bryce (3D modeling and animation)) http://www.daz3d.com/i.x/support/rnlogin/-/?p_sid=vOwOJN6j&p_accessibility=&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=&p_li=&p_next_page=std_alp.php (requires registration)

ArenaNet (Guild wars): http://www.arena.net/contact.php

Ironclad Games (Sins of a Solar Empire) http://www.ironcladgames.com/contact.html

Blizzard Entertainment (World of Warcraft) http://us.blizzard.com/support/webform-us.xml?gameId=0

Firzxis (Civilization IV) http://www.firaxis.com/support/

Electronic Arts (lots of games) http://www.info.ea.com/company/company_prlist.php

My personal problem is that I need Solidworks, so for emphasis I'll repeat their address here:
http://www.solidworks.com/pages/company/SolidWorksOfficeWorldwide.html

Please write to these companies and let them know that we need their products on Linux. Copy the list and write to one company a week. Thanks.

I've done quite a bit of Qt banging-about ( on this guy ), and I gotta say, I love using the language - it's clean, simple, and removes a lot of the grunt-work. Dealing with Trolltech OTOH can be a screaming bitch if the app/project is non-GPL, but that's a decision made by the folks I had worked for at the time, so I figure that's their bucket to carry.

/P

I use both Linux (Fedora Core: where Men are Men and modules are scared) as well as OSX (10.3.9 - yeah, I'm lazy - on a dual G5).

I originally got a Mac because that's where all the affordable non-Windows 3D/CG compositing software was at that time. POV-Ray I love (on occasion), GIMP I love, Blender, umm, I love in an S&M sort of way (which is why I eventually bought AC3D)... but there was no compositing thingy back then for less than ten zillion bucks, a'la Shake and Maya.

Anyrate - a few years on, and I use both quite happily together. I still use AC3D on Linux to do mesh, DAZ|Studio and Poser on the Mac, and NFS binds the two machines seamlessly.

I love using either one in spite of the diffs. I have a link to Terminal sitting on the OSX Dock, and once I got used to the 'not-quite-but-okay-yeah-it's-BSD' setup, it's been a breeze to script and poke around on with bash.

Truth be told, if I could run DAZ|Studio or Poser natively on Linux, I'd probably slowly but surely let the Mac fade and go full-on Linux (they sort of run under Crossover Office and Cedega, but the render times are murder). The reason why is cost-effectiveness. Yes Macs are actually fairly competitive hardware-wise, but I can more easily build a new box in stages (buy bigger CPU/mobo/RAM combo, then a bigger HDD, and who gives a crap about the case style as long as the P/S works...), instead of plonking down $2500 in one go. (I guess I could buy a Mac Mini and just mod the guts into a bigger case... Hrm. Never thought of that).

Anyway, for the foreseeable future, I'll prolly be using both, and I have no problems with that.

That said, I don't use Windows. I wanted a safer and more flexible OS a long time ago, moved everything to BSD and Linux, and haven't looked back since.

/P

All it really takes is for the dev team to use their heads when they design and spec the thing.

/P

HTH,

/P

Like someone already said, you don't need DRM to protect copyright. It is just one method (albeit an efficient one) of enforcing it. You can also sell digital content without DRM and still sue people who try to sell it in an organized fashion. This is in fact how a lot of digital content is handled today. Effectively, the people supplying pirated copies are your competitors who have a huge advantage in price but suffer a similarly huge disadvantage in marketing, convenience and legal status. And the pirates actually also suffer a disadvantage in price, because they cannot get any money for the content itself (who would pay for pirated music?), although they can get some money from advertisements.

Hey, Apple sells lots of music, even though they same music is also available for free as pirated MP3's.

So, your basic formula for success is something like:

1. Marketing. This is the only way to reach the great masses, and pirates can't do it efficiently (well, they can send spam...). Also, since the content is free to reproduce, you can keep you customers happy by frequent bonus offers, discount clubs, monthly freebies, and the like. A nice example of taking advantage of free reproduction is the DaZ3D website which sells Poser content. You have got to admire their marketing savvy. And the success - I mean come on, their business case is so good they have created a free version of Poser (DaZ|Studio) just to sell more content! And none of the content is copy protected mind you.
2. Convenience. Giving the users convenience means you have to put effort into organizing the content, into web site design and management, making sure content installation is painless, etc. Effort requires money. If you are a pirate, you are likely not making enough money to do this.
3. Traceability. Discourage people from copying your content to each other. If all content contains a hidden watermark which identifies the original buyer, people are a lot more reluctant to copy content even to their friends (how many of your friends do you trust not to copy the content any further?).
4. Create as much FUD about pirated content as possible. Only legal content is virus-free. Pirate web sites install trojans which will steal your money. Etc. There is enough basis in fact to make it work. And it works in politics well enough...

DAZ Studio is one of many examples of commercial software that use Qt. It is also free as in free beer.

I was checking out their store and found a plug-in thats on sale (for FREE).

Perhaps if they opened their code they could begin to compete with the free and open-source offerings.

Compare DAZ to Blender/Yafray

Blender was free, closed-source software for some years. No doubt DAZ will also make the decision to emancipate themselves in order to grow in time with their users.

My younger son got hooked early on Bryce, the unique 3d graphics program. At the age of fourteen he could do things with groups and inverted space that I would never have thought possible. He topped out developing web sites with imagemapped renderings so that from a browser you felt as though you were moving through a Myst-like game.

Now he wants to use Maya, but not with a watermark, and he does not want to blow a couple of thousand on the full release.

So now he is a FF-XI junkie. I hope we get the Maya thing resolved soon, so that he gets back to being creative.

To summarize, learning computers is no longer limited to programming or sys admin chores. The PC's role in new media has redefined roles -- these are not your childhood computers.