Honestly; what company whould want to collaborate with these guys after this? What intelligent company leader whould contract to use a program or format, knowing that the supplier has a history of suddenly abandoning all obligations if their wallets start itching and they think more bucks can be made down some other ally? It's not like MC was on the brink of disaster, and had to panikly change course to save what could be saved. Contrarily, MC was in good health, nice stock quotes and their products where selling nicely. They had a wonderfull reputation for their exellent programs and their fantastic programmers where reknown and spoken of in awe.

     MC has announced that their loss this quarter can be as much as 42mil USD, and adds that most of that loss will be the direct result of the decision to axe themselves (in other words, MC says that the company was doing just fine, before they made this decision). If some costs needed to be trimmed, well, then the best bet would be to fire over-paid and under-intelligent leaders. Instead, they created more costs and fired the guys who actually ARE MetaCreations: the team of great programmers. The only reason MC made this decision is that they HOPE that MeatStream will hit shitload of money since some analytics THINK that the online commerse will upple the next 3 or 4 years and MC IMAGINS that companies desperatly want to show their products in 3d to lure even more to buy their books, cars, cameras, videos, refridgerators and God knows what els and HOPE that they MIGHT be able convice such companies to use MetaStream.
Too bad they didn't settle for what they KNOW: that their company was healthy and well respected and could boast of both a reputation and following that no other company has.

    It took MC over a week before they decided to post a lamely worded open letter to us users, stating that they "expect to" continue to support their former product line and there is thus no need for worry. I wonder how they will continue support when they have fired all those who could perform such support? Or do they with "support" mean that "we can answer general questions"? I'd guess that is what they mean, since without programmers who know the code, there can be no uppdates and no real support, no bug-fixes, no in-depth knowled to answer the tricky questions, etc. To _me_ support means the trust that for a forseeable future there will be development, that the program will continue to grow and expand in pace with _me_ growing and expanding in needs of more refined features. So I don't give much credit to their mentioning support. My support needs are far beyond questions that a non-programmer could answer. My support need is mainly continual growth of my main tools: Bryce And KPT. Iv got the manual to ask the normal questions. I was planing on buying Painter, Poser and Carrara, but what reason is there now? Where will I find uppdates? Development? Even bug-fixes? Sorry, MC, but without your crew of heroic programmers, there can be no real support. And you will have _no_ support from me: You obviously don't want me nor my collegues as customers. As for "divesting" these programs, and saying the you "expect" the products to be further developed _IF_ a graphics company buys them off you, well, that's not really reasuring: you have obviously not made propper plans for the future of your "valued customers" who have invested time and energy in a series of programs we now dont know the future of. Again, MC leadership delivers only "IF", "Might" and "Expect": no real substance as to where they ground their assumptions. To think that they will calm and assure their users, distributers and shareholders by delivering such a lame and unsubstancial letter is insulting to our intelligence. It speaks even further of their total disregard for their obligations. It actually seems as if their code is - as linked to above - "feed them bullshit and keep them in the dark". They aparently are stupid enough to think it works, but as I said: it is insulting to OUR intelligence. And the companies they wish to bleed using MetaStream are not stupid either.

    Back to the letter they posted far too late: that they open it with the words "To our _valued_ customers, shareholders, distributors and followers" (my emphasis) is offending. Well, if _this_ is how they treat their "valued" persons, how do they treat others?

    After their announcement, MC shares fell quite a bit. It is obvious that the shareholders don't feel very valued nor feel much trust in MC's leadership, decision or future chances of survival. We just don't feel valued, none of us. Sorry MC, but you have pretty much burned your bridges. If MC had together with the announcement the 14th dec, (which they interestingly enough have taken down from their pressrelease links on their first page), explained exactly who will buy the products they are axing, what type of support we as users can expect and give a better explaination than the words "we are horney for the big score, the shitload of money the internet MIGHT bring us in the future" that was blinking between the lines of their announcement, well, maybe, just _maybe_ I would have found them creduble. As now, I can just tip my hat and say: "Thanks for some lovely years. Don't expect me to come to your funeral though. What love and trust there once was is utterly gone". I am sure I am not alone with this analysis. MetaCreations/Stream will suredly die a sad and painfull death, drowned in greed and futile hope of a MegaMoneyStream that will never happen, since noone will dare have business with them anymore.

My condlences to us all.
Per