KAMUELA  I have been using this app for years. It is not the easiest to learn, hence the claim of it being "user-hostile", if that is accurate anyway. The coding is far from perfect, but there is nothing malicious about this open source program. The community surrounding this app is supportive and I applaud the efforts of blender developers. The last few releases have seen great progress!  
(Version 2.44)

JETFIREDX  I am doing an updated review since it has been a long time since 2005 when I last posted about Blender.

With the last builds of 2.48 and the current 2.49RC series I have come a long way with Blender in a short time. Thanks to the improvements that have been added and many short tutorial videos I've been able to learn quickly the basics of rigging my models from Wings. I am now learning some python and playing around with the Blender Game Engine for some prototyping.

Besides tutorial videos two things seemed to change in regard to Blender since my last review. 1. The community doesn't seem as hostile as they were when I originally tried Blender with the 2.3 and early 2.4 releases. Asking a question got a lot of responses like "Go through the entire Noob-to-Pro book before you ask anything." Now there are many people who can link you to a video or point you in the right direction for how to accomplish something when it needs to be done using different tools than you may be used to. 2. I had to go back and look at Imagine 1.0 and 2.0 from my Amiga days and remember just what it was then do some modeling. I personally was taking too many things for granted with respect to user interface paradigms. Once I remembered how things used to work it was easier to just "let go" and learn this tool without regard to the operating system or "UI best practices" that are all over OS X.

I never did get 2.48 running well on a MacBook with GMA950 integrated graphics. The special builds were too slow to overcome OpenGL problems with the Intel driver. Now I have a MacBook Pro and everything is awesome.

I still think Wings has better modeling tools for the most part that can simplify quite a few tasks greatly but I am getting more used to thinking with Blender's toolset in mind. Blender however brings so much more than Wings though that I can't give it up now that I am comfortable with it. It really is a great program that you can't beat for the cost.  
(Version 2.49rc3)

OSCAR74  Why on Earth are you criticizing Blender just because you don't know what the installer for Yafray (a different, separate piece of software) has placed on your system? If you are so paranoid about what Yafray (not Blender) has installed on your system, and cannot even figure out how to email the Yafray team without removing the "NO SPAM" portion of their addresses, then perhaps you should not have bothered to download Blender.  
(Version 2.44)

CLAYTON WALKER  Just a quick add-on to what I have previously said, none of the 2.4x series work well with a MacBook with an GMA950 graphics card. If you have one of these cards, its best to just wait, or try one of the test builds of Blender 2.5. The official release date of 2.5 is currently unknown, but it's expected to be released sometime this October.  
(Version 2.49a)

PLASTERPYRUS  Is anybody else having trouble downloading the PPC version. I've gone to the blender site and can't find the link, has anyone had better luck finding it?  
(Version 2.49rc3)

UMAROMC  It's 64-bit, too! MacUpdate makes the 64-bit version the default download.

Oddly enough, Blender's download page lists the 64-bit version as being compatible with the Core Duo CPU and 10.5- neither of which is 64-bit (only the Core2Duo with 10.6 minimum offers 64-bit computing on the Mac) while the 32-bit Intel version is for 10.4 systems.

I've a feeling whoever wrote out the specs on Blender.org's download page is not familiar with Mac hardware/software.

ANYWAY enjoy and thanks for the update, MacUpdate!  
(Version 2.5-alpha0)

CLAYTON WALKER  I am going to start off by saying, this is the best 3d modeling/animating/rendering program I have ever used. It may not be he easiest program ever, but if you stick with it and read a couple of online tutorials, you'll get the hand of it pretty quickly.

I am also going to say that the versions 2.4x WILL NOT work on a MacBook with a GMA950 integrated graphics card. I know from experience that only Blender 2.5 with an updated triple buffer will work properly.

Some say that the interface is clunky and that the key-strokes are also hap-hazardly put into Blender. This is not the case, and if one tries to actually put a bit of time into Blender, it will grow on you.

All in all, I find Blender to be one truly amazing program, and in my eyes, the best valued 3d program out there. So, blend on!  
(Version 2.49rc2)

BARTV2  If you're interested in Blender, then check out BlenderNation.com for daily Blender news.  
(Version 2.41)

NATH31  I have toyed with Blender from awhile... its been great... but this version won't start up. I am running OS X 10.4.4

do I need to update something else?  
(Version 2.41)

JETFIREDX  This may very well be the most powerful piece of free software on the planet, but its interface is so backwards and awkward that you may never get through it. With 2.34 I picked up the $50 Blender book and sat down with it for a couple hours a day for over a week. I had used 3D Studio a couple times at an friends who is an artist and that was a steep learning curve... this is crazy. I know they say that the user interface was designed to be efficient once you learn it, but would it be so bad to have options for a learning mode? Sure it might be less efficient working with menus rather than confusing and obscure hotkeys, but it would allow learners to find out what the program offers and learn the hotkeys for the menu functions as they need them.

If you have problems using Blender and want something easy and free, check out Wings 3D... its free, cross platform, has lots of good support on its forums and is a true pleasure to use. Its not nearly as powerful as Blender, but then I didn't need to sit down and work for two years to learn it. Nor did I have to throw out everything I have ever come to expect from how programs work. (I actually had a response to questions about the Blender interface answered with "After two years of working with it you will really begin to understand the program and respect it." Sorry, I don't have two years.  
(Version 2.40)